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PRACTICAL 

Dog Training; 

OR 

TRAINING vs. BREAKING. 



V. ^ 
^\. HAMMOND, 

KENNEL EDITOR "FOREST AND STREAM.' 



REVISED AND REWRITTEN. 

|\ \ TO WHICH HAS BEEN ADDED A CHAPTER ON TRAINING PET DOGS, 
BY AN AMATEUR. 



NEW YORK: 
Forest and Stream Publishing Co. 

1887. 




3r4; 



Copyright, 
Forest and Stream Publishing Cq 

1885. 



j^c n 



AUTHOR'S NOTE. 

The system of dog training described in this book 
is a new one. Its fundamental principles were 
adopted by the writer thirty years ago; the details 
of the method, as here given, have been developed 
and perfected by him during that time. His own 
success with it has encouraged the belief that its 
publication would be welcomed by the thousands of 
American sportsmen who own and handle field dogs. 
This belief, it is a pleasure to say, has been con- 
firmed by the marked favor accorded to the succes- 
sive chapters as they appeared in the Forest, and 
Stream, from which journal they are here reprinted. 

This system is humane and rational. It is also 
practical and efficient. Dog training differs essen- 
tially from dog breaking, both in method and spirit, 
and also in what may be accepted as the test of all 
systems, namely — the results attained. 

The pages of this book contain no theories. They 
are a plain, simple record of the plan which has been 



4 Author s Note. 

tested by the writer in the field, year after year. He 
beUeves that the same plan maybe followed by others 
with equal success. It is, therefore, with the fullest 
confidence in the merits of this system of Dog Train- 
ing vs. Dog Breaking, that it is submitted to the 
public. 

The story of " My Old Dog Trim " is added, 
because from his day the author dates his conversion 
to the belief that training is better than breaking. 
The sketch of " The One-Eyed Grouse of Maple 
Run " is also given, that the reader may have in it 
some of the " reasons for the faith that is in us," 
when we advise the introduction of the youngsters to 
the haunts of this royal bird. These sketches are 
also given as illustrative of some of the pleasures 
enjoyed in the field in the companionship of a well- 
trained dog. S. T. H. 

Forest and Stream Office, March, 18S2. 



NOTE TO THE REVISED EDITION. 

The success attained by this little volume has 
surprised no one more than its author. His faith 
in the system which he has pursued for so many 
years has never wavered, but he confesses that he 
did doubt that the general public would accept his 
dicta, and what is more important, would be able 
to put in practice his method. In thus doubting 
the receptivity of those who own dogs, he has done 
them a grievous injustice. 

The flattering letters which he has received from 
hundreds of unknown friends who have read his 
book and put in practice his teachings, show clearly 
that the number who prefer to use kindness rather 
than harshness is very large. From more than 
one correspondent he has received assurances that 
the lessons taught by " Training vs. Breaking " 
have had a wider application than was intended, 
and that the restraint which the master has been 
obliged to put upon himself while teaching 



6 Note to Revised Edition. 

his dog, has had a most beneficial effect on the 
instructor. 

To all these kindly and appreciative correspond- 
ents the author feels himself bound by strong ties, 
and to all of them he desires to return hearty 
thanks. 

The Publishers tell him that the thousands of 
copies of the book which have been sold are 
scattered over the length and breadth of this con- 
tinent, and that, besides, some have gone to the 
Spanish Colonies and to China and Japan. He 
cannot help feeling that from the favor with which 
it has been received, the system has been found 
to do in other hands just what it has done in 
his. If this be true — if the public have found 
that they can train their dogs by kindness instead 
of " breaking " them by cruelty — then the object 
of the author has been attained, and the satisfac- 
tion that he feels in believing that through his 
efforts the condition of man's best friend has been 
in some degree ameliorated is a sentiment that he 
cannot express in words. S. T. H. 

New York, April 5, 1885. 



CONTENTS. 



First Lessons, 8 

Charge, i8 

Canine Accomplishments, - - - - 27 

The Whistle Again, 35 

Quartering, 43 

Retrieving, 51 

In the Field, 70 

Working in Company, - - - - 83 

Conclusion, ^91 

The One-Eyed Grouse of Maple Run, - 96 

My Old Dog Trim, 112 

Rearing Puppies, 139 

Training Pet Dogs, - - - - 143 



TRAINING VS. BREAKING. 



I. 
FIRST LESSONS. 

NEARLY all writers upon the subject of dog 
training appear to think that there is but one 
course to pursue; that all knowledge that is not 
beaten into a dog is worthless for all practical pur- 
poses, and that the whip, check-cord and spike- 
collar, with perhaps an occasional charge of shot or 
a vigorous dose of shoe leather, are absolutely neces- 
sary in order to perfect his education. 

It may appear presumptuous for us to advocate a 
departure from the beaten path, but as we have had 
some little experience during the past thirty years, 
and as many sportsmen who should be good author- 
ity have seen our dogs at work, and have without 
exception united in praise of the manner in which 
they acquit themselves in the field, we have thought 
that perhaps a description of our method of training 
might prove interesting. It will at least be so to the 



lo Ti^airmig vs. Breaking. 

new beginner. The main object that we have in 
view is the amelioration of the present condition of 
"man's best friend;" and should the perusal of these 
lines cause even one reader to follow the course here 
marked out, we shall feel amply repaid for our labor. 

We have ever been possessed of a great love deep 
down in the heart for our canine pets, and this love 
is the mainspring that governs all our actions toward 
them. We do not wish to be understood as meaning 
that we never use the whip, for we believe with the 
wise king of old that the rod should not be spared 
when it is needed. What we do mean is this: There 
is no dog worth the raising — we are speaking of 
pointers and setters — that cannot and will not learn 
all that it is necessary for him to know, without a 
single blow being struck, or a single harsh word 
being spoken. We are very well aware that this 
humane course will entail a little more labor, and 
that a vast deal more patience is required than when 
dependence is placed upon the whip and boot-heel 
to enforce your commands, but the intelligent and 
cheerful manner in which your pet obeys your slight- 
est word or motion will much more than compensate 
you for the extra time that you have devoted to his 
education. There is nothing that so mars our enjoy- 
ment when in the field as to see the cringing form of 
a noble animal cowering in fear of a whipping, which 
nine times out of ten he does not deserve half so 
much as his master. 

We do not claijn absolute perfection for our sys- 
tem, nor that one can by adopting it invariably sue- 



First Lessons. ii 

ceed in turning out a well-trained, well-behaved dog, 
for we know that with dogs as with men we often 
find one who, for lack of brains, will never amount 
to much, no matter what pains we take with him. 

In selecting a puppy there are many things to be 
taken into consideration. In the first place we must 
be sure that both sire and dam are first-class field 
performers. This we consider of the utmost import- 
ance. They must also be possessed of endurance, 
and must be reasonably intelligent. The more an- 
cestors of this type our puppy can boast the better 
will he suit us. He must also have life and ambi- 
tion; indeed, we care not how high-strung he is, for 
although he may not submit to restraint quite so 
readily as his sleepy brother, yet when we once have 
him under subjection, he will not only mind more 
quickly, but he will do his work better, and much 
more of it. Of course he must be well formed, and 
we should like him to be of good color and coat; but 
these last are not indispensable, as we much prefer 
good performance to good looks. 

Having selected our puppy, we will take him home 
when he is six to eight weeks old, and at once begin 
his education. Many writers will tell you that your 
dog should be much older before you begin to instill 
into his mind even the rudiments of knowledge. If 
you are going to pursue their system of instruction, 
we should advise you by all means to put off the evil 
day as long as possible; but if you are to follow our 
plan, begin at once; not a moment is to be lost. In 
the first place you must secure his affection and 



12 Training vs. Breaking. 

entire confidence. This will be the first lesson, and 
nothing more should be attempted until you have 
completely won his heart and taught him to place 
the utmost confidence in you. At this tender age 
his mind is easily impressed, and will long retain the 
ideas then formed; and it will take but a few days to 
teach him to love you with all his heart. If possible, 
give him a good roomy pen on the ground, with a 
warm, well-sheltered house or box in which to lie. 
Do not forget that he will bs very lonesome for 
a few days, and therefore glad to see you often; 
and you cannot better employ your time than in pay- 
ing him a visit every half hour for the first day or 
two. Always, when you go to see him, have a bit of 
something for him to eat that he will relish. As you 
approach the pen you should invariably blow upon 
your whistle the note that you intend to use to call 
him in. We sound a long note for this purpose, 
beginning loud and gradually dying away. This, 
with a short, sharp note to attract attention, is all 
the signal we ever sound upon the whistle; the last 
we do not use until his education is further advanced. 
By associating this long note with something good 
to eat, it will soon become fixed in his mind that 
when he hears it he must run to you as fast as he 
can. We much prefer to have two puppies, for it takes 
no more time to teach them both than it does to 
teach one, as they will learn from each other; and if 
one is inclined to be dilatory we withhold his reward, 
and he, seeing the other one enjoying his customary 
allowance while he is himself deprived of his share. 



First Lessons, 13 

at once comprehends the true reason, and will be on 
hand the next time. 

Do not fail to abundantly caress him and speak 
kindly words, and never under any circumstances, no 
matter what the provocation, allow yourself to scold 
or strike him, as this is entirely at variance with our 
system, and is sure to result in the defeat of our 
plans. Should he jump upon you with his dirty 
feet, or tear your clothes with his sharp teeth, do 
not get angry and cuff him, but gently yet firmly 
place him upon the ground or unclasp his jaws from 
your garments, consoling yourself with the thought 
that in a short time you will have him so well in 
hand that he will know better than to commit these 
faults. Be very gentle with him at all times; care- 
fully study his disposition, and learn all of his ways, 
that you may the more readily understand just how 
to manage him. You should be in perfect sympathy 
with him and humor all his whims and notions, and 
endeavor to teach him that you truly love him. In 
a short time you will find that this love will be re- 
turned ten fold, and that he is ever anxiously watch- 
ing for your coming, and never so happy as when in 
your presence and enjoying your caresses. 

After a few days you may begin to train him; but 
do not be in a hurry about it, as nothing is gained 
by haste. Be very careful now, and do not ruin all 
by an undue haste; go very slow, carefully feel your 
way, and, above all things, exercise an unwearied 
patience; and if at any time you find the strain upon 
your nerves growing a little too tense, leave him at 



14 Training vs. Breaki7ig. 

once and wait until you are perfectly calm before 
resuming the lesson. 

There is one thing, of the utmost importance, that 
we wish to particularly impress upon your mind 
before we go any further. Do not allow yourself, 
under any circumstances, to speak to your pupil in 
anything but your ordinary tone of voice. There is 
nothing more annoying when out shooting than to 
have a companion continually yelling at the top of 
his voice at his dog, and generally without any effect. 
Such yelling is worse than useless, for if your dog is 
properly trained in the first place, he will readily 
mind your lightest word. For your own comfort, 
then, and for the pleasure of whoever may accom- 
pany you upon your shooting excursions, use nothing 
but gentle tones when you issue your commands. 
When this very disagreeable habit of shouting is 
once commenced, you will soon find that a still louder 
tone is demanded; and had you the lungs of a 
Stentor, it will not be long before your resources will 
be exhausted, and you will vainly sigh for thunder 
tones to voice your words of command. 

The first thing that we endeavor to teach a 
puppy, after we obtain his love and confidence, is 
to stop at the words To-ho. This is a very import- 
ant point, and comparatively easy to teach him. 
He should be very hungry when you commence 
these first lessons, as his eagerness for the food will 
cause him to pay you close attention; and when he 
understands that as soon as he performs his task his 
reward is sure, and that he cannot have it before, he 



First Lessons. 15 

will anxiously strive to do whatever you may require 
of him. You should begin by giving him a taste of 
a piece of meat; then secure a firm hold upon his 
collar, and place a small piece upon the ground in 
front of him. He will struggle with all his strength 
to get at it, but hold him steadily, and do not say a 
word unt 1 he becomes partially quiet; then move his 
nose a little nearer, and, in your ordinary tone of 
voice, say To-ho, with a falling accent upon the last 
syllable. Do not repeat the words just yet, and 
when you do, be very careful that your voice is not 
strained and unnatural. We always accompany this 
word with the right hand raised warningly, for it 
may often happen that we wish our dog to come to a 
halt at some distance from us, and by accustoming 
him to the gesture he will soon learn to stop as far 
as he can see you. Most sportsmen use this signal 
to make their dogs charge, but, as we shall show 
further on, when we come to it, the other plan is 
much better. After a few seconds the dog will 
become more quiet, and you can repeat the words. 
Now carefully watch him, and as scon as his atten- 
tion is fixed upon the meat, and he looks at it stead- 
ily for a second, release your hold and cluck to 
him as a signal that he can now have it, and at 
once praise and pet him, and give him to understand 
that he has done something wonderful, and that you 
are pleased with him. We should have stated before 
that, from the first, whenever you place his food 
before him you should always cluck to him, as he 
will thus learn the meaning of the sound, and under- 



1 6 Training vs. Breaking. 

stand when he hears it that all restraint is removed. 
After the first trial do not try him again until the 
next time that you feed him; for should you force 
him he may grow weary and fail to respond with 
that cheerfulness and akcrity that are so pleasing to 
see. You must be very careful that he does not get 
the meat until you give him permission, for he must 
understand that you mean business every time, and 
that he cannot have it until he becomes perfectly 
quiet and hears your signal. After a few lessons of 
this kind, if you have managed right, you will be 
surprised to see the improvement that he will make 
and the zest with which he will enter into the spirit 
of it. You can soon leave him free, and he will 
readily point at the word; and with proper care he 
will soon learn to point when the meat is thrown to 
quite a distance from him. Of course you will un- 
derstand that the distance must be increased very 
gradually, and implicit obedience exacted every time. 
Should he move so much as one step after you give 
him the word, you must instantly place him as near 
as may be in his former position, at the same time 
repeating the word; and this must be done gently 
yet firmly until he becomes steadfast. Too much 
importance cannot be attached to this; indeed, it is 
the groundwork of our whole system; and unless you 
thoroughly instill into his mind the knowledge that 
you mean just what you say, and must be obeyed to 
the very letter, and that he cannot vary the fraction 
of an inch from the rule that you have laid down, it 
will not be of any use to continue further, for under 



First Lessons. 17 

our system — or any other — it will be utterly impossi- 
ble to turn out a well-trained animal unless we strictly 
adhere to this rule and exact implicit obedience 
every time. 

After he once understands that he must mind, 
your task is half accomplished; the rest is compara- 
tively easy, and you will indeed find it a labor of 
love to perfect his education. 

In giving these first lessons do not remove him 
from his pen, as new surroundings will serve to dis- 
tract his attention from the business on hand, and 
your task will be all the harder; indeed, it is much 
better to avoid all training outside of the pen until 
your pupil is well established in what you have 
taught him. Should it not be convenient to have a 
pen for him, a good-sized room or any inclosure that 
he cannot get out of, will answer for training pur- 
poses. Do not allow any spectators in these first 
lessons, as you want his undivided attention. We 
know that there is great satisfaction in showing off 
the little fellow's accomplishments to one's friends; 
but until you are quite sure that he will obey when 
strangers are near, it is much better to practice him 
alone than to have him "go back on you" before 
folks, where you might feel a little delicacy about 
enforcing your commands. 



II. 
CHARGE! 

WE will take it for granted that, after a week or 
two of daily practice, our pupil has so far 
advanced in his education as to be reasonably pro- 
ficient in his performance at To-ho, and we will now 
take another step and try him with something new, 
and endeavor to teach him the meaning of the word 
charge. As this word is in constant use among 
sportsmen the world over, we always teach our dogs 
its meaning; but for our own use we greatly prefer a 
low-breathed Sh! It is just as effective and far more 
quiet, especially when you take your dog into com- 
pany; for instead of attracting the attention of every 
one in the room by commanding him to charge, you 
can give him this signal, and scarcely one even of 
those nearest you will notice it. We have used this 
for more than twenty years, and can heartily recom- 
mend it. Most persons train their dogs to charge at 
the upraised hand. We do not quite like this, and 
have never adopted the custom, for it very seldom 
occurs that you wish your dog to drop at any great 



Charge / i 9 

distance from you; but should you from any cause 
wish your dog to remain quiet when he is at a dis- 
tance, how much better it is to teach him to come to 
a full stop at the raising of your hand, and remain 
upon his feet where he can see you and be ready to 
obey your next signal. Even at the discharge of the 
gun or rise of the bird, we greatly prefer that the 
dog, instead of charging, should instantly stop and 
stand up, where he can readily see what is going on. 
There are many arguments in favor of this course 
that we will not mention until we get further on. 

We will now take our pupil in hand and see if we 
can teach him to "charge." Place one hand upon 
his shoulders and neck and the other upon his hips, 
and gently yet firmly force him to a recumbent posi- 
tion, at the same time repeat the charge, prefaced 
with the low Sh! Do not forget to use only your 
natural tone, at the same time the word must be 
spoken in a decided way that cannot be mistaken for 
entreaty instead of command. This word must not 
be spoken more than once, and given with a falling 
inflection; keep him in position until he ceases strug- 
gling and his muscles relax. After a second or two, 
if he remains quiet, remove your hands and allow 
him to get up. By using the words "hold up" or 
"get up" in this connection, he will soon learn their 
meaning; but do not do this until he appears to un- 
derstand what you want of him; and on no account, 
no matter how long the struggle continues, should 
you repeat the word, nor let up on him one particle, 
for everything depends on first impressions, and as 



20 Training vs. Breaking. 

soon as your pupil finds Ihat his struggles to escape 
avail him nothing, and that, relentless as fate, you 
are bound to conquer and accomplish your pur- 
pose, he will at each successive lesson be more will- 
ing to yield. To this persistent painstaking and 
unwearied perseverance in sticking to our point until 
our object is accomplished do we owe much of our 
success in training. 

We must again repeat that all this time you must 
keep perfectly cool, and must suffer no sign to escape 
any of anger or impatience; for if you cannot con- 
trol your temper you are not the one to train a dog, 
and had better resort to the breaking process at 
once. 

Great care should be taken to place the puppy in a 
natural position. When you force him down see that 
his hindlegs are squarely under his body and his 
forelegs advanced well in front, with the head resting 
between or upon them, and always insist upon this 
position. 

In the first lessons it is not necessary to keep him 
in position more than a second or two, but be very 
careful that he understands that you are to be the 
judge of the proper time when he may get up. As 
he grows older the time can be very gradually ex- 
tended, according to his disposition. Should he be 
very nervous and excitable, great care must be had 
that he does not get heart-broken with unnecessary 
and long-continued restraint. 

Do not expect that he will at once become perfect 
in anything that you may teach him, but possess 



Charge / 21 

your soul in patience, and allow and encourage him 
to act out his puppy ways and to play and frolic to 
his heart's content, always excepting, of course, the 
few moments that you devote to his lessons. Above 
a!l things, carefully refrain from anything that looks 
like restraint in your ordinary intercourse with him, 
and endeavor to instill into his mind that you are his 
loving friend, and that nothing suits you better than 
to see him thoroughly enjoy himself. We have found 
by experience that dogs are very much like men in 
some respects. They both are possessed of a super- 
abundance of steam that must have vent somehow, 
and it is much better for your pupil to get rid of the 
surplus while he is of too tender an age to work any 
harm, than to bottle it up for escape in the future, 
when added years and knowledge are very prone to 
turn the current into dangerous channels. How 
much better it is to allow your boy to chase the 
gaudy butterfly and to encourage him to renewed 
efforts and let him learn for himself that, even if he 
is successful in securing the object of his desire, the 
chase is futile, and will not pay for bruised and tired 
limbs and soiled and torn clothes — how much better 
this than to keep him unwilling at your side, with his 
young heart almost bursting to essay the trial, and 
sowing the seed that in a few years will ripen and 
cause him at the first opportune moment to break, 
not for butterflies now, but in a wild chase for for- 
bidden pleasures that the restraints of his childhood 
make doubly dear. Do not think that we are moral- 
izing; we are only illustrating. Therefore, when 



^/ 



2 2 Training vs. Breaking, 

your pupil gives chase to the ''butterflies of youth," 
do not check him, but rather urge him on, that he 
may the sooner discover the fallacy of the pursuit. 
In the meantime console yourself with the thought 
that he is working off his surplus steam, and will all 
the sooner settle down to the real duties of life and 
do you no discredit by wild escapades in his mature 
years. 

There is one thing that we consider of paramount 
importance — our puppy must staunchly point when 
he is from six to ten weeks old. If he will not do 
this naturally and of his own free will, quickly dis- 
pose of him to some one who is not so particular, 
and try again. Although his breeding may be of 
the best, and the chances in favor of his pointing in 
the future, still there are so many elements of chance 
in raising up dogs that we should strive to eliminate 
at least all the doubtful ones. We have yet to see 
the dog that would make a gamy point at this tender 
age that would not fulfill the promise in his riper 
years; while "the woods are full" of those that, hav- 
ing passed their youth without displaying this 
*'heaven-born gift," still make no sign. It is not 
necessary that he should be tried on game birds — 
although this is desirable — but any bird will answer 
the purpose; a fowl or chicken will do first-rate, or 
almost anything that will attract his attention so that 
he will make a staunch point. Do not force this 
upon him, but merely give him a chance to discover 
the bird or chicken himself, and if he has this instinct 
planted within him you may depend upon his show- 



Charge! 23 

ing it. Many puppies who will staunchly point at 
this age may, perhaps, a few weeks or months later, 
show no sign; give yourself no uneasiness on this 
account, for you know that the instinct is there, and, 
although it may be dormant for a while, you caa rest 
secure that it will return in proper season. 

Do not forget during all your lessons, and while 
at play with him, to pet and fondle him; but do not 
allow him to jump upon you at any time. Whenever 
he does this you should at once firmly remove him, 
and he will soon learn that this will not do. You 
should also talk to him — not baby talk — but use in- 
telligent, rational language, just such as you would 
use in talking to a ten-year-old boy, and you will be 
surprised to see how soon he will understand your 
conversation. V/e are well aware that many persons 
will ridicule this, and will claim that a dog should be 
taught just as little as will answer to make him un- 
derstand his duties while in the field, and that what 
they term "fancy training" is a positive injury to his 
usefulness. We have no sympathy with these views, 
for nearly all the pleasure derived from our shooting 
trips is in witnessing the intelligent manner in which 
our pets perform their duties; and well satisfied are 
we that the more varied their accomplishments and 
the more developed their reasoning faculties, the 
more enjoyment they will afford. That many writers 
disagree with us upon this point is true; and for- 
merly, while perusing the finished productions of 
their able pens, we have been haunted by lingering 
doabts that after all perhaps they were right and 



24 Training vs. Brcaki7ig. 

that our system was open to serious objections; but 
after a tramp over the stubble or through the covert 
with these same writers, and witnessing the deUght 
with which they gazed upon the performance of our 
dogs, and Hstening to the lavish encomiums which 
they bestowed upon their good behavior, we have 
been confirmed in the faith that our system is, to say 
the least, not radically wrong. Many sportsmen 
whom we have met in the field insist upon congratu- 
lating us upon the wonderful good luck that we have 
had in obtaining such intelligent animals. That 
they are intelligent is plain to be seen; that they are 
naturally more so than thousands of others we can- 
not believe, for we have had considerable experience 
with many strains of both pointers and setters. Of 
pointers we have owned the "gazelle-eyed," satin- 
coated, light weight beauties, and many of the differ- 
ent strains and crosses up to the lumbering Spaniard; 
and of setters we have cultivated the "wild Irish- 
man," as well as his more staid English and Scotch 
brothers, together with many animals of our grand 
old native stock, and have ever found them all en- 
dowed with faculties that needed but proper train- 
ing to develop them into intelligent companions as 
well as first-class "killing" dogs. 

We will now return to our pupil, whom we have 
given quite a rest, and continue our lessons, ever re- 
membering that we must "hasten slowly," and not 
overburden his youthful days with care and sorrow 
by too frequent or long continued restraint. Unless 
he is very dull and stupid, or inclined to be refrac- 



Charge! 25 

tory, or, worse than all, sulky, a very short time is 
sufficient to give him all the instruction and practice 
needed; indeed, the shorter the time occupied in his 
lessons at this tender age the better, provided you 
succeed in obtaining an intelligent obedience to your 
commands^ 

You should be pretty well acquainted with his 
disposition by this time, and be able to form an 
opinion as to whether it will pay to keep him or try 
again. We are very loth to expend much time with 
a dull or stupid dog, and a sour or sulky disposition 
we abominate, and dispose of as soon as may be. 
We are bsst suited when a puppy is full of life and 
sho.vs that he has a will of his own. We care not 
if he be headstrong, even willful, so that he be full 
of life and action; for we have ever found that these 
high-strung animals are not only possessed of greater 
intelligence than their less sensitive companions, but 
as a rule they are more killing dogs, to *say nothing 
of the greater pleasure that they afford by their 
superior style of going. Should his temperament 
appear to be what you desire, thankfully proceed 
with your pleasurable task. 

You must be careful when you commence his 
lesson that you do not cross him by beginning when 
he has something of importance upon his mind that 
will distract his attention from the business on hand. 
If he is busy with a bone, or engaged at play, or his 
mind appears to be preoccupied, leave him. quietly 
alone until he is disengaged, and then go on with 
the lesson; by pursuing this course you will secure 



26 Training vs. Breaking. 

his undivided attention, and not only save time, but 
much wear and tear of your stock of patience. It 
will be time enough to teach him that he must leave 
his bone or cease his play at your command when he 
is a little older and a little further advanced in his 
education. At the same time, should you unthink- 
ingly order him to do anything while he is engaged, 
you must see to it that the order is obeyed at all 
hazards, for it will never do to play fast-and-loose 
with him, nor to allow him to get the idea into his 
head that he can ever have his own way, when you 
desire the contrary. After you have taught him to 
charge readily without the aid of your hand to force 
him down, you can gradually increase your distance 
from him when you give the order; and if you are 
very careful to make him instantly obey you, and do 
not allow him to take even a single step after the 
command is given, he will soon obey the order as far 
as he can hear your voice. 



Ill 
CANINE ACCOMPLISHMENTS. 

WHILE teaching our puppy to charge, his other 
lesson must by no means be neglected, but 
plenty of practice must be sandwiched in until he 
appears to thoroughly understand the meaning of 
To-ho, and will readily stop at the word or upraised 
hand. When he is reasonably perfect in this, you 
can vary the lesson by placing the food upon your 
knee, as you sit by him, and bringing his nose very 
close to it, and after a while, as he improves, you can 
lay the morsel upon his nose, and he will soon learn 
to hold perfectly still and retain any attitude that 
you may place him in. As he advances in knowledge, 
you should take a piece of meat of good size, that 
he cannot swallow, and carefully open his mouth — 
this you can do by clasping your hand around the 
muzzle and gently forcing the thumb and fingers be- 
tween the jaws — and placing the piece therein, at the 
same time commanding him to To-Jio. Do not 
remove your hand from his jaws, but hold him lightly 
yet firmly; for although the chances are in favor of 



28 Ti'aining vs. Breaking. 

his understanding what is wanted, and obeying 
readily, still it is necessary to retain the grasp, as 
we are not through with him yet; and should the 
taste of the meat prove too tempting and he under- 
take to bolt it, you, having a good hold of him, can 
at once open his mouth and secure the meat. As 
soon as he comprehends what you require and re- 
mains perfectly quiet, gently force open his mouth 
and take the meat from him, at the same time telling 
him to "drop," and at once reward him with some 
other kind of meat, thus teaching him that he cannot 
eat the first piece, or even mouth it, but must deliver 
it safe into your hand. We generally use a piece of 
tough, partly-cooked beef for the trial, and are very 
particular in our first lessons of this kind to reward 
him with a bit of liver or something entirely different 
from the large piece. The utility of this lesson we 
will explain further on, only remarking here that we 
consider it of vital importance that our pupil should 
be thoroughly trained in this, for we think it to l.e 
one of his most necessary lessons, and too much time 
cannot be expended in perfecting him in this branch 
of his education. He should become so perfect in 
this that he will take the smallest bit of meat in his 
mouth and hold it perfectly still, without the slight- 
est movement of his jaws, and deliver it readily into 
your hand without reluctance. 

You should accustom him to the restraint of the 
chain very early in his career, for the longer you wait 
the harder will be the task. He should bs chained 
up two or three times each day, for a little while only 



Canine Accomplishments. 29 

at a time, taking care that he is perfectly quiet v. hen 
you loose him. Should he be very restless and un- 
easy, you must soothe him with kind words and pet 
him until he becomes quiet, and on no account un- 
fasten him until he ceases his struggles and remains 
calm for a little while, thus teaching him that bowl- 
ings and strugglings will not set him free. Be very 
careful to see that he cannot break his co'Iar nor 
slip it over his head, nor break his chain, for it is of 
the utmost importance that your lessons should be 
thorough, and that at no time should he get the idea 
into his head that there is any possible course except 
implicit obedience to your wishes. Great care must 
be taken at all times, in all his lessons, that he be not 
kept under restraint for too long a time, but the in- 
crease of time must be none the less sure, although 
very gradual and almost imperceptible. In this 
much will depend upon his disposition, which, if you 
have carefully studied, you will be able to manage, 
so that he shall not become disgusted and be an un- 
willing pupil. At the slightest indication that he is 
getting weary of instruction, you must let up a little 
and proceed slower, but with such care and good 
judgment that he shall not mistr.:st the reason; and 
if you pursue the proper course and manage him 
rightly, you will be amply repaid when he comes to 
maturity in witnessing the intelligent and cheerful 
manner in which he will obey your commands and 
submit to long-continued restraint without a murmur. 
We accustom our puppy from the first to the so- 
ciety of fowls, and if possible procure a brood of 



30 Training vs. Breaking. 

chickens for him to associate with. We greatly pre- 
fer game fowls for this purpose, for we think they 
are possessed of stronger scent, thus being more at- 
tractive to him, and making him all the more eager 
to investigate them, while the mother, being much 
mora brave in their defense than a common dunghill, 
w^ill at his first attempt to chase or worry them give 
him a lesson that he will never forget. Upon the 
occasion of his first introduction to them, do not 
allow him to suspect that you have planned the inter- 
view, but let him accidentally come upon them while 
at play; he may not chase, but the chances are that 
he will make a rush for them. Do not stir, but 
calmly say To-ho, and leave the rest to the old hen. 
Should he hear you and stop, you must caress and 
praise him. Should he "point" them, do not encour- 
age, neither must you prevent him, but take no notice 
of it, for should he find that it was pleasing to you, 
he might form habits that would not always prove 
satisfactory. On the other hand, should you dis- 
courage him, he would perhaps think it was wrong 
to point, so that the best way is to leave him alone, 
and let him point to his heart's content, thankful that 
he has the instinct, end content to patiently await 
the proper time to so direct this wonderful gift that 
its display shall minister to your pleasure and afford 
you abundant enjoyment. 

There is one other point to which we wish to call 
your attention while we are upon the subject. If 
you have hunted much, you have undoubtedly seen 
dogs that would point rabbits, and perhaps chase 



Canine Accomplishments. 31 

them. Now, that our pupil may not be guilty of 
such indiscretion when old enough to take the field, 
we will proceed to so train him that he will never 
pay them the slightest attention. We always obtain, 
if possible, a pair or more of our common wild 
rabbits; if these cannot be had the tame variety 
will answer. Then we build them a hutch alongside 
the puppy's pen, with a hole communicating just 
large enough for them to pass through, that they 
may visit him at their pleasure and readily escape if 
he should be too familiar, and my word for it you 
never need fear that your dog is pointing a rabbit. 
We once purchased for a song a magnificent dog, 
which was entirely worthless because, although he 
had an excellent nose, and was perfectly staunch, he 
would point every rabbit that came in his way, and 
would "draw" on their trail, and you could never 
make sure but he was leading you after one of these 
pests instead of a bird. We took him home and 
placed him in a large yard, with several of his bob- 
tailed friends, and left him to his fate. He pointed 
them steadily all the afternoon, and refused to leave 
them to eat his supper. What he did during the 
night we cannot say, but when we visited him in the 
morning, although he was lying down, he was still 
staunchly pointing, but apparently very tired. He 
did leave them long enough to eat his breakfast, but 
as soon as it was down he immediately resumed his 
work. This, went on for nearly a week before he ap- 
peared to weaken, and before the close of the second 
week he evidently had had enough of it. We then 



32 Training vs. Breaking. 

took him into the field, taking pains to go where rab- 
bits were plenty, but not once did he pay them the 
slightest attention, nor was he ever known to notice 
them again. For the same reason we like to have 
cats about the house, that our puppy may become 
well acquainted with them before he commences 
hunting. 

The pup^y chould be let out of his pen for a good 
run, at least twice a day; end if he will remain 
about the house and not stray away, we should much 
prefer to let him run all the time, for the more exer- 
cise that he gets the better will it be for his strength 
and endurance in the future, and the less he is con- 
fined the better will it be for his courage and confi- 
dence. 

While our puppy is yet young he should be taught 
to love the sound of the gun. This can be easily 
accomplished if the proper course is pursued. In 
the first place we take a couple of ohi tin pans, and 
while his attention is attracted by something that in- 
terests him, we strike them together, lightly at first; 
and if he appears to be afraid, we are very careful 
not to add to his fright by a repetition of the noise 
anywhere near him, but to take the pans to quite a 
distance from his pen and leave them, and wait 
awhile before trying again. When it is time to feed 
him we go to the pans, and while sounding our 
whistle, as before described, to let him know that we 
are coming, we give a stroke just loud enough for 
him to hear plainly, and at once proceed to his pen 
and give him his feed. By pursuing this course for 



Canine Accomplishfnents. -XiZ 

a few days, and gradually going a little closer every 
time, he will become accustomed to the sound, and 
learning that the noise is connected with our com- 
ing, and also his dinner, he soon gets used to it, and 
in a short time will stand the racket without flinch- 
ing. When he has become so accustomed to the 
noise that he shows no signs of fear at quite a loud 
crash, it is time to try him with the gun. In order 
to do this understandingly you will require an assist- 
ant. Let him take the gun, loaded with a light 
charge of powder, and stand at some little distance 
— say forty or fifty yards away — and be ready at 
your signal to fire. You will now enter his pen, and 
after he gets a little quiet, call him to you and put a 
piece of meat before him and bid him To-ho, at the 
same time raising your hand as a signal for the gun. 
Carefully watch him, and should he display any sign 
of fear, the experiment must be repeated as with the 
pans. There is no need of your presence except 
that you may notice how he behaves, and you can 
dispense with your assistant, unless, as will probably 
be the case, he does not mind the report, when the 
gun can be brought nearer, and you can make 
another trial. Great care must be taken not to 
frighten him with too loud a discharge, nor should it 
be too close to him, until he gets used to it. By 
paying close attention to him when under fire, you 
can readily tell how far it will do to go, and by 
properly conducting your experiment you can soon 
teach him to love the sound of the gun, even when 
fired over his head; indeed, we have cured in this 



34 Training vs. Breaking. 

way some of the worst cases of gun-shyness that we 
ever saw. Comparatively few dogs are gun-shy, and 
it is with these only that those precautions are neces- 
sary. After your puppy has been carefully accus- 
tomed to the noise, do not lay the gun aside as soon 
as you have accomplished your object, but let him 
hear the sound occasionally until his education is 
complete, taking good care that the discharge of th3 
gun is at once followed by something pleasing to 
him — his dinner, for instance — or let it be a prelude 
to giving him his liberty, thus giving him to under- 
stand that the noise means something, and soon the 
noise, or even the sight of the gun, will cause him 
pleasurable emotions that he will never forget. 



IV. 
THE WHISTLE AGAIN. 

WHEN our pupil has become so well established 
in the knowledge of what is required of him 
that he will, when at quite a distance from us, instantly _ 
stop at the signal of the upraised hand and retain his 
position until given permission to move, we will 
advance him another step, and teach him the mean- 
ing of that other sound of the whistle, which we have 
mentioned as being used to attract his attention. 
We always use for this purpose two very short, quick 
toots, \\:t'n the second one following the first 
instantly. As the meaning of this signal is entirely 
different from the one that he has become accustomed 
to, so should the sound be also so different that he 
can never mistake the one for the other, nor for an 
instant be in doubt as to what is required of him 
when he hears the sound of the whistle. 

As much depends upon first impressions, we will 
take good care that we start right, and that we let 
him hear the first sound of this signal at an opportune 
moment, and as we wish to teach him that this sound 



36 Ti'-airmig vs. Breaking. 

:s only to attract his attention, we will be very careful 
that he be not looking toward us, but wait until he is 
at some little distance from us, and looking the other 
way. At the same time care must be taken that he 
be not particularly engaged about anything that 
would tend to distract his mind. At just the right 
time you should sound the signal in a short, sharp, 
quick way, but only loud enough for him to hear dis- 
tinctly, and he will at once look around to learn what 
this means. At the instant he casts his eye in your 
direction, raise your hand as a signal for him to To-ho. 
Be very sure that your hand is raised at the proper 
time, for, as we have remarked before, first impres- 
sions are very important, particularly in this lesson, 
and he should instantly see and obey your signal, 
thus learning — if this course is always pursued — that 
the two short blasts mean nothing in themselves, and 
are only a warning to call his attention to something 
of importance that you wish him to do. 

You will find it necessary to vary this or he will 
come to associate this signal with your command of 
To-ho, and at once stop when he hears it. Now we 
wish to train him so thoroughly in this that when we 
come a little later to teach him to quarter his ground, 
he will not slacken his speed at the souixd, but merely 
turn his head in our direction, and quick as a flash 
obey whatever signal we may give him; there- 
fore, when you repeat this lesson, instead of raising 
your hand for him to stop, command him to charge. 
Of course you will see that he is near enough to hear 
you plainly. Perhaps it will be as well at the next 



The Whistle Again. t^j 

trial to sound the long note as soon as he looks 
around, and call him in, not forgetting to abundantly- 
caress and praise him when he performs his task in a 
pleasing manner. We think it a very good plan to 
ahvays have in our pocket something good for him to 
eat, and when he minds this long note and comes in 
quickly, we reward him with a bit of something sub- 
stantial as well as with fine words. This system of 
rewards must not be carried too far nor practiced too 
often, but used occasionally when he performs his 
duties in a satisfactory manner; especially when he 
comes in at the sound of the whistle quickly and 
cheerfully, a little piece of meat will at least have no 
tendency to slacken his speed v, hen next he hears 
this signal. This instantaneous, almost electric obedi- 
ence and cheerful alacrity is most pleasing to witness, 
especially when hunting in company with others 
whose dogs may not be quite up to the standard in 
this respect. Therefore no pains should be spared 
to so perfect our pupil in this, so that when we come 
to practical work in the field his actions shall cause 
us no disquiet nor reflect discredit upon our skill as 
a teacher. 

There is one word more that our pupil should 
early become accustomed to, and it will be well to 
introduce its use almost at the beginning. This is the 
word On. You can use this word alone or, as many- 
prefer, you can say Go on or Hie on. Either one 
is well enough, and your puppy will harn the mean- 
ing just as quickly even should you indiscriminately 
use all three, as it is the word on every time, and even 



38 Training vs. Breaking. 

if you should paraphrase it, as a well known sports- 
man is in the habit of doing, and order your dog to 
Git on, it will make no difference. 

Let us charge you once more to be sure to issue all 
your commands in a decided manner, and always in 
your ordinary tone of voice; and do not fail to 
deliver each one with a falling inflection, for we never 
yet saw the man who issued his orders with a rising 
inflection but was sadly bothered to secure obedience 
to them. By using this word, or any of the above 
variations, when you cluck to him to take his food, 
he will soon understand its meaning if the word 
instantly follows the cluck. Probably he will get the 
two mixed at first, but as you practice him at To-ho, 
he will soon learn what it means; for as he improves 
in this and becomes steady, he should be taught to 
point at gradually increased distances, and the word 
On should be used to move him up; and in a short 
time, if this is properly managed, he will carefully 
and steadily "draw" on a piece of meat for a long 
distance. Great care must be taken that you do not 
confuse him by seemingly contradictory orders, for 
he now thinks that your cluck and On mean one and 
the same thing, and in order to teach him the dift'er- 
ence you must omit the cluck when you wish him to ad- 
vance, and omit the On when you wish him to eat the 
morsel before him. This can be readily accomplished 
by placing the meat four or five feet from him, and 
after he has pointed it a short while tell him to Go on, 
and when he is close to it make him To-ho once more; 
and cluck to him as a signal that he may have it. 



The Whistle Again. 39 

We always partially omit the On after the cluck, as 
soon as he appears to understand its meaning, only 
using it enough to keep him from forgetting it, and 
as soon as we begin to teach him the difference we 
are very careful not to use either one in place of the 
other, until he has the lesson well learned and 
appears to thoroughly understand both signals, when 
we can safely mix them again; for oftentimes when 
shooting we may wish to mov^e him on, especially 
when trailing ruffed grouse, when the capture of the 
bird depends upon our absolute silence, at least so 
far as words are concerned; therefore he should be 
taught to advance at the sound of the cluck as well 
as the word On. 

When well accustomed to the restraint of the 
chain, he should be taught to come to heel and 
quietly walk by your side. We greatly prefer that our 
dog should keep this position with his head just 
opposite our legs, where we can see him without 
turning around, instead of having him behind us. In 
order to teach him this, quickly and well, you should 
procure a stick, about two feet long and an inch in 
diameter, and fasten a snap at one end of it. This 
you can easily accomplish with the aid of a bit of 
leather. Now spring the snap into the ring in his 
collar and take a little walk with him. We generally 
manage a few of these first lessons at his usual meal 
time by placing his dish of food at the proper dis- 
tance before we take him in hand. He should know 
nothing of his dinner until you lead him to it. When 
all is ready, take a firm hold of your end of the stick and 



40 Training vs. Breaking. 

walk along at your usual gait, coaxing him to follow. 
Be sure and have the stick at the right angle to keep 
him just where you intend to have him go. After 
one or two steps, and when you have got him well 
under way, you must say Heel to him, and repeat the 
word once or twice as you walk along. You cannot 
expect that his behavior will be entirely faultless upon 
the first trial, but no matter how he takes it, lead him 
straight to his dinner and at once unfasten him and 
let him eat. After a few lessons of this kind, he will 
become perfectly reconciled, and you can gradually 
extend your walk and occasionally omit giving his 
food at the end, and he will soon learn to keep his 
place without the aid of the stick. Then you can 
extend your walks, taking care to be very gradual in 
the increase of time, and to be very sure that he 
implicitly obeys you and does not leave his place for 
even so much as a second's time, until you bid him 
go on. If this lesson is thoroughly — now do not 
smile at the frequent repetition of this word, for it is 
a word that we are very fond of, and one that we wish 
thoroughly to impress upon your mind as being one 
of the greatest importance in perfecting our pupil in 
his education — if this lesson is thoroughly learned, 
you will be spared much trouble and worry in the 
future. Should you have occasion to take the dog 
with you into the street, you will not be obliged to 
whistle at every turn, and perhaps to wait and search 
for him, but you will know just where he is and what 
he is doing. Then how much better it is, when you 
come to the practical application of the knowledge, 



The Whistle Again. 41 

which you have been to so much trouble to impart 
and take your dog into the field, to have him quietly 
retain his position by your side instead of rushing 
wildly around at his own sweet will, and compelling 
you to shout yourself hoarse and to unstring your 
nerves in a continual struggle to keep him within 
bounds, thus placing you at a double disadvantage, 
for the continual noise not only frightens the birds, 
causing them to rise out of shot, but the constant 
worry of mind and strain upon the nerves is a very 
prolific source of unsteadiness in shooting. 

Do not neglect to give your pupil plenty of prac« 
tice at all his lessons, as well as the one just com- 
menced; not wearying nor long continued practice, 
but just enough to keep him well up to his work. If 
you have a spare moment give him a little turn at 
To-ho, ever aiming at perfection; and be sure to see 
that he does his work well, ard never allow him to 
perform his task in a careless or slovenly manner. 
You should also practice him at Charge, until he will 
not cnly obey the order readily, but retain his posi- 
tion in a perfectly quiet manner until you shall bid 
him Hold up. 

He should be made to Charge when you are out 
walking with him, and taught to remain quiet while 
you are walking around; and in a short time you can 
go quite a distance, even out of his sight, and he will 
patiently await your return. Your orders should be 
given at unexpected times, when he is not looking 
for them. By this course you will teach him to be 
always ready to obey, no matter when or where he 



42 Training vs. Breaking. 

may hear the signal. He should also be taught to 
hold his position at To-ho while you Avalk around 
and away from him; for it frequently happens, when 
trailing birds, that you wish to go round to avoid a 
mud hole or brier patch, and if your dog has been 
well trained in this, by witnessing one intelligent 
performance of this pleasing accomplishment, you 
will be more than repaid for all labor expended in 
teaching it to him. 

Many dogs will pay no attention to strangers, and 
appear to care for no one except their masters. 
Should your puppy be inclined to notice others, and 
give you any trouble in this respect, you can very 
easily teach him better, by having some one call the 
dog to him, and give him a few light cuts with a 
switch; and by changing your assistant every time, 
and administering two or three doses of this, he will 
give you no further trouble. If your assistant will 
fondle him a little before administering the switch, 
the puppy will all the sooner find out that it is better 
to have nothing to do with others than yourself, and 
will not bother you later by running to every one 
who may notice him. 



Y. 
QUARTERING. 

WHAT is more pleasing to the eye of a sports- 
man than the evolutions of a well-trained 
dog as he systematically quarters his ground ? With 
what satisfaction and pleasure we gaze upon his 
graceful motions, as with head high in air he gallops 
across the wind, ever turning at the signal or the 
promptings of his own good judgment, and crossing 
just in front, covers the whole ground! Pardonable, 
indeed, is the pride of the sportsman who possesses 
such an animal, for well we know how rare it is to 
see this performance in perfection. 

Many dogs seem to possess a sort of instinct for 
this, and without any special training will quarter 
their ground very fairly; while others appear to have 
no inherent sense of the matter, but will beat straight 
ahead in whatever direction they are started, and 
neither turn to the right nor left, nor stop until they 
find scent, or are recalled by the whistle. Should 
your puppy prove to be of the former class, thank 
your lucky stars for the kindly fortune; but relax 



44 Training vs. Breaking. 

not your efforts to so train him that his performance 
'shall be faultless. On the other hand, should he dis- 
play no aptitude for this, do not despair, for with 
proper training he can be taught to acquit himself 
very fairly — so well, in fact, that his performances 
will compare favorably with those of a large major- 
ity of other dogs that he may meet in the field. 

Before commencing his lessons in quartering, our 
pupil should fully understand the meaning of the 
word On^ and readily move forward on hearing it. 
He will also have acquired some knowledge of the 
meaning of the motion of your hand as indicating 
the direction that you wish him to take from the 
practice that you have given him at To-ho. For 
when you have thrown the piece of meat for him to 
point, he has noticed that this motion is invariably 
in the direction that he saw the meat thrown, and as 
he is possessed of reasoning faculties of no mean 
order, lie has figured it all out, and has arrived at 
correct conclusions in the matter, and you will find 
upon trial that he will readily £tart in the direction 
you wish him to take at the first wave of your hand. 

While instructing him in this branch of his educa- 
tion, we may as well improve the opportunity to get 
his head in the air where it belongs, for when we get 
in the field with him we shall find this accomplish- 
ment to be very desirable; indeed, we always adopt 
this plan from the first in his practice at To-Jio, 
unless he is naturally high-headed; and even then it 
can do no harm. You must be sure that he is well 
advanced in the lessons already taught before you 



Quarter mg. 45 

attempt to teach him this. Then, when he is very- 
hungry, take him into a large yard, or still better, 
into some open field where you will be free from in- 
terruption by any one, and having provided yourself 
with two kinds of meat (as mentioned in his first 
lesson at To-ho), and also with two or three sticks 
about two feet long and as thick as your finger and 
sharpened at each end, you are ready to commence 
operations. You should always enter the field from 
the leeward side, as in actual hunting; and after mak- 
ing your pupil charge, you will walk away from him 
about twenty yards. Do not go directly up wind, 
but diagonally across; thus, if the wind :s west you 
will go to the northwest or southwest, as you may 
prefer; and after impaling a piece of meat upon the 
end of one of the sticks, set the other end in the 
ground just firmly enough to remain in position. We 
think it is better to set it in a bunch of grass or low 
bushes, that it may be hid from his sight, as it is time 
to teach him that he must depend upon his nose. If 
there are no bushes at hand, you can easily carry 
with you a few leafy twigs, or if in winter, a few 
pine boughs, and stick down one or two in front to 
hide it from view. In this way place one or two 
more pieces at some little distance from the first one, 
and also from each other, taking care to put them so 
that you can work up wind toward them, and be sure 
that you do not forget their location. 

Now return to your pupil and praise and pet him 
for his good behavior in remaining quiet, and reward 
him with a bit of the same kind of meat that is on the 



46 Traming vs. Breaking. 

stick. After he has eaten it and is intently watching 
for more, take another piece of the same kind and let 
him smell of it; and then make believe throw it in 
the direction you wish him to go, which should be at 
an angle from the meat upon the stick; thus, if the 
stick is northwest from you, make the motion toward 
the north, which will take him across the wind and 
also bring him near enough to the meat to smell it 
when he gets opposite it. Carefully watch him, and 
the very instant he s':rikes the scent you must make 
him To-ho; then walk up to h'.m and praise and pat 
him, but make him hold his position while you ad- 
vance and pick up the stick and take the meat there- 
from and put it in your pocket, taking good care 
that he has a good view of the whole performance. 
Now abundantly reward him with praise and give 
him a piece of the other kind of meat to eat. 

After a few moments' rest you can proceed to look 
for the next piece in the same manner, and if he 
shows no sign of weariness you can continue to the 
third. Beyond this we do not think it advisable to go 
at the first lesson, nor even so far if he shows the 
least sign of having had enough of it. Indeed, in all 
his lessons and practice it is much better to stop far 
short of satiety than to weary and perhaps disgust 
him with too long continued application. Your own 
good judgment will generally tell you when to stop, 
and you will find that five minutes' or even one 
minute's practice, that leaves your pupil in a happy 
frame of mind induced by the bestowal of your well- 
merited praise, is much better than an hour's that 



Oua7'tc7'i)ig\ 47 

finds you both fagged out and disheartened by the 
failure to accomplish satisfactory results. We have 
learned by experience that the shorter the time 
devoted to his lessons the better, provided that he is 
practiced every day, several times if you like, and a 
satisfactory performance of his task obtained. 

After a few lessons of this kind, if he goes through 
the performance in a satisfactory manner, you can 
venture a little further and try him with a turn by 
making the motion in the wrong direction. Be very 
easy and go careful now, for much depends upon 
starting right. When all is ready wave your hand in 
just the opposite direction from the one that you have 
been accustomed to, and when he has taken two or 
three strides, sound the two short notes with your 
whistle, and at the instant he turns his head toward 
you, wave your hand in the other direction and pro- 
ceed as in former lessons. Should he be loth to turn, 
you must use good judgment and get him used to it 
without getting him discouraged; perhaps by making 
him To-ho when he refuses to turn, and then sending 
him in the new direction you will get safely over the 
difficulty. But it is seldom that you will have any 
trouble if you have pursued a proper course in his 
earlier lessons and thoroughly instilled into his mind 
that he must obey. We have been often surprised to 
see how readily our puppy would at the first trial 
turn and take the direction indicated, thus showing 
that our efforts to make him feel confidence in us and 
that he could implicitly trust us, were crowned with 
success, and that instinctively, as it were, he obeyed 



48 Training vs. Breaking. 

the motion of our hand, although thinking that the 
meat was in the opposite direction. 

After you once get this first turn accompHshed the 
rest is comparatively easy, but do not hurry him, as 
nothing is gained, and much may be lost by undue 
haste; and you will find, if you drill him in this 
until he is reasonably perfect before going any 
further, that when you come to try him with the 
second turn, he will all the more readily comprehend 
and obey. If at the successive steps in these lessons 
you are through with each one before attempting the 
next, you are sure to find your reward for your 
patient labor in the great satisfaction that you will 
experience when you cast him loose among the birds, 
and witness the practical illustration of your wisdom 
and success as a teacher that he will be sure to afford 
you. 

It is better to confme his beat to quite narrow 
limits at first, as this will keep him near you and 
make it easier for you to check him at once, should 
his performance be faulty. Three or four strides 
will generally be found sufficient, and in some cases 
even less will be found enough, and occasionally we 
may have a pupil whose natural aptitude for this may 
be indulged from the first and a still wider range 
allowed him; but in either case the range should be 
circumscribed until he appears to understand what is 
required, and to readily and cheerfully obey your 
signals and the different motions of your hand. This 
very important accomplishment cannot be taught in 
a week or a month; indeed, you will do very well if 



Qiiarteriiig. 49 

you succeed in obtaining fair work out of him in a 
year — not but long before this time he will beat his 
ground in a manner that will cau:e even old sports- 
men to pronounce him a prodigy — but as we are 
striving for perfection, we will not be satisfied with a 
mediocre performance, but continue perseveringl/ to 
practice our pupil until he will not only regularly 
quarter his ground in front of us and instantly obey 
each signal, but will wheel of his own accord when 
he reaches a proper distance or comes to fence, 
hedge or stream that he should not cross. This 
knowledge that he should not cross a fence or hedge 
without orders is of great importance and easily im- 
parted by working him along a fence after he has 
learned to beat his ground and turn at the signal. 
He will, after a few lessons, understand what you 
desire and keep within bounds. Should he at any 
time transgress and go through or over the fence, 
care must be taken that he return at once, and at 
the precise spot where he went through. This is of 
great importance, for if he is allowed to return at 
any other point the chances are that he will fail to 
realize that he has done wrong; but if you insist on 
his returning at the exact place, he will at once un- 
derstand that something is wrong, and will be more 
careful in the future. 

While our puppy is yet young he should become 
accustomed to the water. Most young dogs will 
take to it readily; but should he appear to have any 
fear of it, he must be handled with care and grad- 
ually made acquainted with it in such a manner as 



^ 



50 Training vs. Breakifig: 

will not frighten him. When he has acquired some 
little knowledge, and you begm to take him out for a 
walk with you, you should visit with him some small 
stream or shallow pond and sit down on the bank 
and give him time to get acquainted with it. If he 
shows no inclination to wet his feet, you will find it 
a very good plan to hold a piece of meat over the 
water where it is but an inch or two deep, and where 
he cannot get it without putting his feet in it. By 
carefully working him in this way he will soon learn 
that it will not hurt him, and in a short time he will 
fearlessly wade across the shallow stream with you, 
and soon, if the right course is pursued, he will ven- 
ture anywhere. You should never throw him in, no 
matter how much you may feel disposed to do so, 
but rather let him find out for himself that water 
will not hurt him, and he will soon lose all fear. 



VI. 
RETRIEVING. 

RETRIEVING is an accomplishmen'. that nearly 
all sportsmen place a high value upon, and 
even its opponents generally become quick converts 
to the practice as soon as they are fortunate enough 
to own a dog that is well trained in this almost in- 
dispensable branch of canine education. We have 
often been amused at the sudden change in the mind 
of some of these outspoken adversaries of the prac- 
tice upon their acquisition of a really good retriever. 
How quickly their fears that it will make him un- 
steady vanish; how soon their belief that it will ruin 
his nose takes flight; and henceforth the system has 
no stronger advocate — until they get another worth- 
less animal. We do not propose to argue the ques- 
tion here as to whether retrieving is detrimental to 
the dog or not, but will, instead, state that it is our 
firm belief that if our dog is properly trained in the 
first place, and kept up to his work as he should be, 
no possible harm can accrue either to his nose or 
steadiness; and that in no single instance where evil 



52 Training vs. Bi^caking. 

results have ensued was it the fault of the practice or 
the dog, but entirely the fault of the man; for the 
dog is certainly not to blame for breaking shot and 
chasing the wing-broken bird when his master sets 
the example. Neither should he be blamed for re- 
peating the indiscretion. Here we can see that the 
check cord and spiked collar could be used to very 
great advantage, but we should by no means test its 
efficacy upon the neck of the dumb animal. 

We will now resume our lessons, reserving further 
remarks upon this very important subject until we 
come to actual work in the field. We do not think 
it advisable to commence teaching our puppy to re- 
trieve until he has shed his puppy teeth and his 
permanent set are pretty well grown, for until this 
time his mouth is generally more or less inflamed, 
and his first teeth are sharp as needles; and we may 
not hope to succeed in achieving that dainty, delicate 
mouth — that is so indispensable to the good retriever 
— as certainly as we shall if we wait until his gums 
are hardened and he has become somewhat accus- 
tomed to his new teeth. He will also have acquired 
all the more experience with the added days, and 
will the more readily understand what you require. 
We shall now derive no little benefit from our so- 
called "fancy training." In fact, should our pupil 
possess no natural taste for retrieving, we shall find 
it almost indispensable; and should he prove never 
so hard-headed and never so hard-mouthed, we may 
rest assured that with the help of this same fancy 
training we shall be able to bring him safely through, 



Retrieving. 5 3 

and that no doubting fears will disturb our mind 
when we send him for his first bird. 

Our pupil should be well up in all his lessons by 
this time, and so perfect at To-ho that he will not 
only "draw" on a piece of meat one step at a time, 
but he must be also so well trained that when you 
cluck to him as a signal that he may eat it, he will, 
after taking it in his mouth, instantly, at your com- 
mand of To-ho, hold it perfectly still and deliver it 
into your hand without any hesitancy. If this has 
been thoroughly taught him, one-half your task in 
teaching him to retrieve is accomplished, and you 
will find it an easy matter to complete his education, 
for you will have no trouble in inducing him to take 
a single step toward you when he has the piece of 
meat in his mouth; and by using great care that you 
do not tax his patience too much by an undue haste 
to perfect him too soon, he will, in a short time, 
readily take two or three steps, and with proper care 
and good judgment on your part he will soon learn 
to readily bring you the smallest bit of meat from 
across the yard, and to deliver it into your hand 
intact. 

We must again caution you to go very slow, and 
to be satisfied with a very little progress. In this 
lesson special care must be had that each successive 
step is well and thoroughly learned before proceed- 
ing any further. Thus, when you have succeeded in 
getting him to take a step or two toward you, do not 
try him at a longer distance until he has had con- 
siderable practice at this, and will readily come the 



54 Training vs. B 7^ caking. 

step or two at the word bring; or you can use the 
y^oxdi fetch if you prefer, but do not use more than 
one of them, at least until your pupil is further ad- 
vanced. Of course you will have taught him to come 
to you when called long before this, and by prefacing 
your call with the word bring or fetch, it will not be 
long before he will understand its meaning; but until 
he does understand it and comes readily at the word 
you should not increase the distance. 

There is a great difference in dogs in learning this. 
Some of them will give scarcely any trouble, and 
from the first appear to know just what is wanted 
and take delight in bringing anything that may be 
thrown for them, while others seem to be stupid and 
will never bring anything of their own accord. The 
first is a natural retriever, and will be easily taught 
and also easily spoiled. The last, although harder 
to teach, will make nearly as good a retriever as the 
former if the proper course is pursued. We very 
much dislike that a puppy should retrieve before his 
mouth is all right and his permanent teeth well 
grown, for this propensity, if indulged before this 
time, is very apt to give you a hard-mouthed dog. 
For this reason we never encourage a puppy to bring 
anything while at play; in fact he should never for a 
moment be allowed to think that he is at play while 
under instruction in any of his lessons, for there is 
nothing that is so conducive to bad behavior and 
disobedience as this. Therefore, make him realize 
that when you require him to do anything you mean 
work and not play. 



Retrieving. 5 5 

Do not forget that he must never be allowed to 
eat the piece of meat that he has held in his mouth 
or brought to you, but that he must be rewarded 
with something different. This is a very important 
point, and you will find it very useful in perfecting 
the delicate mouth that we all admire so much. You 
must also insist upon instant obedience to your com- 
mand to drop. This can be obtained at the outset 
by practice with your hand, clasping his muzzle, as 
we have before described; and this must be resorted 
to should he show the slightest inclination to hesitate 
or roll the morsel around in his mouth, for we are 
aiming at perfection and must be satisfied with noth- 
ing short. 

When our pupil has become so proficient in this 
that he will pick up a piece of meat and bring it a few 
steps and deliver it safe into your hand, you should 
take a piece of cloth and loosely wrap up the meat 
inside of it, and commence as in the first place by 
putting it in his mouth and proceeding as in your 
first lesson at this. He will probably understand 
what is required and very soon perform as well with 
this as he did with the bare meat; but should he not 
like this, you must proceed with the same painstaking 
perseverance that we have endeavored to impress 
upon your mind as being of the utmost importance, 
until your end is attained. You will find that a piece 
of old cotton cloth that is clean and about as large 
as your two hands will answer admirably. You 
should let him see you wrap it around the meat, that 
he may more readily understand your object, and if 



56 Training vs. B 7^ e a king. 

he gives you any trouble yo'i must be very careful 
that you do not try to force him too fast. Perhaps 
you will find it expedient to leave the meat partially 
exposed until he understands what is wanted. Or 
you may merely tie a shred of cloth to it for a while, 
and very gradually increase the amount until you 
have it entirely covered. Your knowledge of his 
disposition will aid your judgment in so timing his 
lessons and in so conducting any new experiments, 
that he shall not become disgusted nor sulky, and 
thus give you no end of trouble. Your aim should 
be to so handle him that his lessons shall prove a 
source of enjoyment, and he be ever anxious to 
receive your instructions. This you can easily 
accomplish by a proper system of rewards when he 
does well, and by lavishing upon him unstinted 
caresses and praise when giving him lessons. To 
bring about this result you may find it advantageous 
to be chary of your caresses at other times and to 
reserve your words of praise for your hours of 
practice; but this will be necessary only in extreme 
cases. 

When our dog brings in his birds in the faultless 
manner that we have been at so much trouble to 
teach him, we shall want to see him deliver them into 
our hand in the same faultless style. And to secure 
that end we will teach him to come with his captive 
directly in front of us and to sit on his haunches with 
his head well up and quietly await our pleasure. 
Proceed to do this by calling him up in front of you, 
and placing one hand upon his hips and the other 



Retrieving. 5 7 

under his chin, gently, yet firmly, force his hind parts 
down while you hold up his head, at the same time 
telling him to "sit." This will be enough for the 
first lesson, and by continuing in this manner he will 
soon sit at the word, and then you can give him the 
order every time that he brings the piece of meat, 
taking care that he sits directly in front of you every 
time and remains quiet for a second or two before 
delivering it; and in a short time he will become so 
accustomed to this that he will do it of his own 
accord. We prefer that our dog should bring his 
birds in the good old-fashioned way, by taking them 
well into the mouth. This becomes a necessity when 
the bird is only wing-broken, and to our mind it is 
far more preferable at all times. Especially is it so 
when among close-lying birds; for with the bird in 
his mouth, back away from his nose, he will not be 
nearly so apt to flush game that may be in his path. 
Still we have trained dogs to fetch the bird by one 
wing, which is easily done by taking half a dozen of 
the stiff wing feathers of any game bird, or if those 
cannot be had, those of fowl will answer. These 
should be braided together and then sewed in place 
with stout pack thread. This braiding and sewing is 
to give him a hold with his teeth so that he will not be 
obliged to grip them, thus giving him a hard mouth. 
This should be regularly used after he has learned to 
bring his piece of meat. Perhaps it would be well to 
tie a bit of meat to it at first, and, when he will bring 
it readily, a small stone that will weigh two or three 
ounces should be attached to it, and as he improves 



58 Training vs. Breaking. 

you can gradually add to the weight until it ap- 
proaches the weight of the bird, say nearly half a 
pound. Care should be taken to make the feathers 
fast to the stone so that they will not come apart. 
We do not recommend this style, but as many think 
that it is quite an accomplishment, we give our 
method, which has proved successful. Should you 
wish to adopt this course, you should confine your 
practice entirely to this bunch of feathers, and when 
he brings it readily you should vary the performance 
by attaching different articles instead of the stone — 
your knife, for instance, or a bunch of keys or a bit 
of wood, and by always making him bring by taking 
the feathers in his mouth, he will readily learn to 
bring his birds in the same manner if you show him 
how with a few of his first ones, by placing the wing 
in his mouth, or perhaps the mere showing him the 
wing will be sufficient. 

Should you decide for the old-fashioned way, you 
should procure a soft ball. We have found a ball of 
lampwicking to be the best possible thing that could 
be devised; it is soft and just about the right size. 
This should be stitched through and through, so that 
it will not unravel, and after he brings his bit of meat 
in good shape you can try him with this. You will 
find that the best plan to pursue is to commence at 
the beginning and place it in his mouth as you did 
the first piece of meat, and to pursue the same course 
by asking only one or two steps, until he gets accus- 
tomed to it. Be careful not to try to accomplish too 
much, and go no faster than your pupil's progress 



RetrieviJig. 59 

will warrant. When you think that it will answer to 
order him to pick it up and bring it to you, watch 
him very closely; and if there is going to be any 
trouble, and he does not seem inclined to pick it up 
readily, you must instantly go to him and place it in 
his mouth, and be content to let him bring it this 
way for this time, and wait until he is very hungry, 
and then try him by tying a piece of meat to the ball, 
and he will soon learn what is required and give no 
further trouble. When he brings his ball readily, 
you should procure some feathers — from the body of 
a game bird if possible, but those of a fowl will do 
very well — and commence by sewing two or three of 
them on the ball, and as he becomes accustomed to 
them you should add more until the surface is en- 
tirely covered. This will accustom him to feathers, 
and he will not refuse to take a bird in his mouth, 
as we have known some dogs to do that were really 
good retrievers. We should not advise you to re- 
quire your pupil to bring anything except bits of 
meat and this ball, until he does this in good form 
and appears to fully understand what you require. 
Then you should gradually accustom him to bring 
other articles — a half sheet of newspaper crumpled 
into a ball the size of your fist is a good thing 
to practice him on, always remembering when be- 
ginning with anything new to first carefully place 
it in his mouth and require him to bring it but a step 
or two the first time. This may seem needless to 
you, but you will find it necessary with some dogs; 
and we have ever found that the best results have 



6o Trainme vs. Brea kins'. 



been obtained by strictly following this course, no 
matter how intelligent our pupil may be or how willing 
to bring anything that we may wish him to. 

Should you desire your dog to become proficient 
in the fancy department of this accomplishment, 
there is no end to the tricks that you may teach him; 
but until he is fairly perfect in bringing his bit of 
meat and ball, you should confine your practice 
strictly to these; for although he may understand 
you and readily bring anything that you may ask 
him to, you will find it the better way to go slow and 
sure, ever bearing in mind that anything that is 
worth your while to teach him should be taught in a 
thorough manner, that he may not forget it, should 
he happen to go a few days without being called 
upon to perform it. 

We like our dog to carry as well as to fetch, and 
deliver his bird to our companion who has shot it; 
and we wish him so well trained that he will carry 
any article and lay it down at the word "drop" in any 
place that we may designate. This he may be 
taught to do understandingly if you pursue the 
proper course with him. To teach him this you will 
require an assistant, who should be one of your own 
family or some one that the dog is well acquainted 
with. When you give the first lesson your assistant 
should be a few feet from you. Calling your pupil 
to you, give him his ball and bid him "carry" it, at 
the same time motioning with your hand in the 
direction that he is to go. Your assistant should not 
say a word, but should merely hold out his hand for 



Retrieving. 6 1 

the ball, and when the dog delivers it, he should 
praise and pet him a little, while you should make 
much of him, and if he has performed the task in a 
pleasing manner, reward him with a bit of meat. 
After a few lessons of this kind the distance can be 
increased, and he will soon carry as far as he can see 
your assistant. If there is any difficulty in getting 
him started right, let your assistant take the ball and 
send him to you, until he understands what is wanted, 
which he will do after a few lessons. Of course, you 
have told him to "drop" every time that he delivers 
anything to you, and as he knows the meaning of 
the word, it will be an easy task to teach him to lay 
down his ball or bit of meat in any place that you 
may wish him to. In order that he may learn to do 
this in a proper manner and readily drop his burden 
at the word, and instantly leave it without regret and 
come to you, we will begin at the beginning and give 
him the order for the first time when he is close to 
us, and with our hand extended as if to take it. As 
soon as he opens his mouth the hand should be in- 
stantly removed and the article allowed to drop on 
the ground. At once praise and pet him and give 
him to understand that this is all right. On no 
account must you pick up the article, or he may be 
led to think that he should have delivered it into 
your hand as usual, nor should you allow him to 
pick it up, but at once call him away and interest 
him with something else. This will be enough for 
the first lesson. This should be repeated until he 
appears to understand what is required, before you 



62 Training vs. Breaking. 

attempt to increase the distance. Your pupil must 
be made to understand that when he hears the order 
to drop he must instantly loose his hold, and leaving 
the article, at once obey whatever signal you may 
give him. You should so teach him that when com- 
ing in with anything that you have ordered him to 
bring he will, at the word, drop it and wheel at the 
motion of the hand in any direction that you may 
indicate. You will derive no little benefit from this 
accomplishment should you ever get into a "hot 
corner" on a duck pass, and not only save yourself 
much worry, but also spare your dog much labor, by 
bidding him drop his dead bird and first secure the 
wounded one, which may make good its escape 
unless attended to at once. The same thing often 
occurs in quail shooting, and many birds are lost that 
might be brought to bag, did your dog but under- 
stand this fancy training. 

The careful reader will readily understand that 
our so-called "fancy training" is in reality not so 
useless as some of our would-be critics would have 
us believe; but that it is a part of our system 
whereby we not only bring out our pupil a "killing" 
dog, but we make of him an intelligent companion, 
and elevate him, as it were, to our own sphere, and 
by the wonderful development of his reasoning facul- 
ties, not only greatly increase his capacity for intelli- 
gently entering into the enjoyment of the ever- 
changing phases of our woodland sports, but add 
greatly to our pleasure in witnessing the marvelous 
manifestations of reason and intelligence that he will 



Retrieving. ^ 63 

display in his encounters with some wary patriarch 
of the forest, whose tricks and subterfuges will outvie 
the wily stratagems of a Talleyrand. 

There are many things that you can readily teach 
your pupil after you once get him fairly started on 
the road, for the more you teach him and the greater 
pains you take with him, the more readily will he 
understand what you wish. You must use great 
caution when you begin teaching him to bring any- 
thing that is new to him; and be very sure that he 
will understand your orders before you issue them. 
This point is worthy your careful consideration, and 
you should strive to make yourself perfectly under- 
stood at all times. This you can easily do by closely 
watching his disposition and the workings of his 
mind as he performs his task. Some dogs are pos- 
sessed of remarkable reasoning faculties and appear 
intuitively to understand just what you wish, while 
others are slow to learn and require more time to 
develop their latent powers. From personal experi- 
ence we are well satisfied that one of the former 
class requires to the full as much painstaking, care- 
ful handling as the latter, in order to perfect his 
education and make him a steady, reliable dog. 
Therefore, unless you wish to see exemplified the 
truth of the old saying, "Quick learned, quick for- 
gotten," go slow, and be very sure that every step in 
each lesson is well learned before you advance any 
further. You should never ask your dog to bring 
anything that will tax his powers too severely, and 
especially should this rule be observed until his edu- 



64 Training vs. Breaking. 

cation is complete. Your judgment will tell you 
better than to bid him bring the crowbar or a piece 
of custard pie; you should likewise refrain from 
asking him to bring anything that is hard or bulky, 
at least until he has arrived at maturity and is 
well established in all his lessons. Many good 
retrievers are ruined by being allowed to bring 
articles that they are obliged to grasp hard in order 
to hold on to. For this reason we never permit 
our dog to bring our knife or anything of the 
kind, for just so sure as this is allowed, just so sure 
will the dog acquire the habit of pinching his birds. 

We once owned one of the best retrievers we ever 
saw. In an evil hour we bade him carry into the 
house the earthen plate from which he had eaten his 
dinner. After this it became the regular thing for 
him to do at every meal; but alas, that dainty, deli- 
cate mouth, which had been our pride and boast, was 
gone forever, and after this every bird he brought 
that was not stone dead would show the marks of 
his teeth. We are well aware that there is a great 
difference in dogs in this respect, and we occasionally 
see one that will bring anything that he can drag 
along, and at the same time he will hardly ruffle a 
feather of a struggling bird; but for fear that you 
may not possess such a paragon, we advise you to be 
very careful about trying any experiments that may 
ruin your dog, especially when there is no practical 
benefit to be derived that is at all commensurate with 
the risk that you run. Your hat and gloves and 
slippers you may safely allow him to bring you, and 



Retrieving. 65 

it will take but little time to teach him this if you 
carefully follow the instructions that we have given. 
You can even teach him by constant practice to dis- 
tinguish between them, so that when you send him 
for either one he will make no mistake, but, under- 
standing your order, bring the article you wish. In 
order to teach him this you should first accustom him 
to bring each article, and at the same time to take 
pains to teach him its name. Take, for instance, 
your hat, and after placing it in his mouth, bid him 
"bring the hat," and be sure to use the same lan- 
guage every time that you practice him at this. After 
he has had practice enough to bring readily the arti- 
cle desired, you can place several articles together. 
Put your hat and gloves with his ball and other light 
articles, then order him to bring the hat. Should he 
pick it up at the first trial, as he is very likely to do, 
you must praise and pet him, and as you talk to 
him you should speak the word "hat" in order to im- 
press upon his memory the meaning of the word. 
This should be done in an intelligent manner, per- 
haps by saying he "is a good dog to bring the hat," 
just as you would talk to a boy. Should he pick up 
his ball, or any other article, at once tell him to 
"drop," and repeat the order for the hat, and do not 
allow him to bring you anything else. After he 
brings the hat readily every time, you can change to 
something else, your gloves, for instance; but until 
he has learned the meaning of the words and brings 
the articles readily, do not place the hat near them, 
nor where he can see it, as it may confuse him. 



66 Training vs. Breaking. 

When he has become accustomed to the gloves, you 
can place the hat with them, and he will soon under- 
stand which to bring. This course should be pur- 
sued with each article, and in a short time he will 
understand the meaning of the words; and when you 
send him for any article that you have thus taught 
him the name of, he will seldom make a mistake. 
While teaching your pupil to retrieve, you should 
never allow yourself to become careless, nor let 
him do his work in a slovenly manner. Always 
insist upon a perfect performance of his task, for if 
he is once allowed to depart from the accustomed 
manner that you have taught him, he is sure to get 
the impression that this is right and pleasing to you, 
and you will have a harder task to set him right than 
you would to have kept him straight in the first place; 
and worse than this, he will be very liable to become 
confused and fail to understand just what you want; 
therefore, firmly insist upon implicit obedience to 
your orders, and never allow yourself to deviate one 
iota from the course that you have marked out. 

We have ever found that all intelligent dogs are 
very prone to look to their masters for guidance, and 
instinctively to take their cue from them as to their 
behavior. You should take every advantage of this 
trait, and by cool and collected behavior, under all 
circumstances, strive to impart to your pupil a steadi- 
ness that will ever be to you a source of pride. 

This trait is especially to be cultivated when trying 
to make a careful, tender-mouthed retriever. You 
should always handle with the greatest care any 



Retrieving: 67 

article that you are teaching him to bring. There 
appears to be something in the careful manner in 
which you handle the object that is potent to impress 
upon his mind a corresponding carefulness in taking 
hold of it. The reverse is true when the object is 
roughly thrown upon the ground. We have fre- 
quently taken pains to go, and with ostentatious care 
lay the article down instead of throwing it, and have 
in this way succeeded in obtaining the be -t of results, 
especially when our dog was a little inclined to be 
rough or hard-mouthed. 

There is one rule that we have carefully observed 
for many years, and we can assure you that it is well 
worthy your consideration. We never allow a puppy 
to retrieve a bird his first season, until we have first 
handled it, and found that it was stone dead. You 
should allow him to pomt it for a short time and 
then daintily pick it up; and, after smoothing out the 
feathers very carefully, lay it down in front of him, 
taking care that he can see your every motion. Now 
retreat a few steps and very quietly bid him "bring 
dead." By pursuing this course you will improve, 
not only his mouth, but his steadiness as well; arid 
also give him a chance to become acquainted with 
the difference in the scent between a live and a dead 
bird, and so render him less liable to make a mistake 
by pouncing upon a close-lying bird that chances to 
be near where hs has marked the dead bird down. 

Having intimated in the first chapter that we are 
in favor of using the whip when it is needed, we will 
briefly explain. As we have before stated we never 



68 Trainiiig vs. Breaking. 

use the whip until our pupil's education is complete, 
and there is no occasion to resort to it even then, 
unless our orders are willfully disobeyed. When we 
find that our pupil is willful, and deliberately refuses 
to perform his task, we seek occasion to give him a 
lesson that he will not forget. We are very careful 
to select an occasion for punishment when the order 
disobeyed is of a passive character, like To-ho or 
Charge, as better results are obtained than when the 
command is of an active nature. Provided with a 
heavy whip, we take the opportunity when our pupil 
is very much engaged about something that will be 
pretty sure to cause him to disobey, and give him the 
order to Charge. If we are positive that he plainly 
understands and willfully refuses to obey, we in- 
stantly take him by the collar in such a manner that 
he cannot bite or break away, and repeating the order, 
strike him once with all our force. Retaining our 
hold, we calmly wait without speaking, long enough 
to slowly count ten. We then repeat the order and 
blow simultaneously. This we continue until our 
judgment tells us that he has had enough. You may 
depend upon it that a dozen blows thus administered 
will accomplish more in the way of reform than a 
hundred thrashings as generally inflicted, for your 
pupil knows why he is punished, and has plenty of 
time between the strokes to reason it all out, and he 
will surely come to the conclusion that you really 
want him to charge when you give the order; and 
that the best thing that he can do is to instantly obey. 
Unless he is uncommonly stubborn you will find that 



Retrieving. 69 

one or two such whippings will last him a lifetime. 
You must be very careful to issue your commands 
in your ordinary tone of voice, and on no account 
must you display the least sign of anger or im- 
patience; and as soon as you are through with the 
punishment you must speak a few kindly words to 
him in order to let him understand that you are still 
his loving friend. As soon as he recovers a little, 
you should repeat your order, which he will at once 
obey, when you must pet and praise him without 
stint, thus indelibly impressing upon his mind that 
the way of the canine transgressor is hard, and that 
obedience will bring a sure reward. We very much 
dislike to punish a dog; but if this has to be done, 
we greatly prefer that the lesson should be given 
before we take him into the field, as the knowledge 
thus imparted may prevent the necessity of resorting 
to this extreme when among the birds. 



VI. 
IN THE FIELD. 

JN THE preceding chapters all of our work has 
been of a preliminary character. We have ex- 
pended much time and patience in order to perfect 
our pupil in the rudiments of the education that is so 
indispensable to that pride of the sportsman's heart, 
a good dog. Long ago we thought our pet was just 
about perfection m the performance of his duties, and 
have anxiously awaited the coming of the crisp 
October days that we might put to the test our hopes, 
and, by actual trial in the field, demonstrate how 
much of wisdom pertains to the course that we have 
pursued. Do we live among the forest-crowned hills, 
the home of the lordly ruffed grouse, we have long 
ago located several broods of these regal birds, and 
as we have paid them an occasional visit, how our 
blood has warmed up, how our nerves have thrilled 
as we fondly dreamed of the sport in store for us 
when the falling leaf should proclaim that 

The hunter's glorious days have come, 
The best of all the year; 

When through the woodland shades we roam, 
With royal sport to cheer. 



In the Field. 71 

Should our home be toward the setting sun on the 
broad prairie, whose vast expanse teems with num- 
berless broods of the toothsome chicken, with ever- 
growing dehght and satisfaction have we witnessed 
from day to day the added strength of the whirring 
pinion, and with ever-increasing impatience at lag- 
gard time's slow flight have awaited the dawn of the 
auspicious day that brings such wealth of joy to the 
sportsman's heart. Or, perchance, our hopes of hap- 
piness are turning to the pride of the stubbles, the 
gamy, beautiful quail. How eagerly have we beafeen 
the feeding grounds, and as the merry bevy, with 
tumultous roar, have burst upon our sight, how have 
we, with throbbing pulse, watched the flitting wings, 
and carefully marked their flight as they settled in the 
friendly cover or upon the distant hillside. What 
visions of the lithe bounding forms suddenly trans- 
formed into living statues, mingled with flashing 
brown sprites, the crack of the gun, and the cloud of 
light feathers floating in air, have filled us with antici- 
pated satisfaction, as we thought of the pleasure in 
store for us when the early frosts should call us forth 
to the field. Or do thoughts of that long-billed 
aristocrat of birds, "woodcock the magnificent," alone 
engage our thoughts? Well, we know their sure 
abiding place, and as we have paid them our devoir 
and seen them dart through the openings, and heard 
their querulous whistle, how have we thought that 
the sere and yellow leaf would soon be here to bring 
to us most royal sport. Do not look upon this as a 
digression, for we dearly love the pursuit of every 



72 Training vs. Bi' caking. \ 

one of these favorites; and we hope that you, dearr 
reader, like ourselves, will so train your dog that, no 
matter where your Unes are cast, your pleasant sporti 
shall be sure. 

Our favorite sport since childhood has been th& 
pursuit of that best of all game birds, the magnificent! 
ruffed grouse, and we have invariably found, when 
our dog was anywhere near perfect in circumventing 
this most wily bird, that but few days or perhaps: 
hours of practice were required to make him equally 
adept in the pursuit of any of the others. Man) 
writers pronounce this beautiful bird unfit to train j 
dog upon; they rail against his subtle cunning, anc 
are unstinted in condemning his swiftness of wing^ 
and they will give you columns in disparagement o 
his preternatural wisdom, which they miscall wildness,' 
and earnestly advise you to keep your young do;) 
away from the ruffed grouse's haunts. Notwittt 
standing the evident sincerity of these writers, wv 
must beg to differ from their views, and can onll 
regret that their knowledge of the habits of this kini j ' 
of birds is not equal to their skill in framing sentenceJ 
for his vilification. I 

Having decided to give our pupil his first practic; I 
lessons with this most potent instructor as our cc \ 



worker, let us "hie away to the fields with eager do ; 
and trusty gun," and test the sport so long antic 
pated. Our pupil should be kept at heel until \\ 
reach the usual haunt of the birds, when he shou 
be encouraged to go on. Let him go where 1 
pleases, taking care only to keep him within bounc 



In the Field. 73 

and always under your eye, that you may see just 
what he is doing. Do not bother him with any 
orders, if you can possibly avoid it; above all, do 
not make him beat each particular corner that you 
may think desirable, but rather allow him to take the 
lead and to have his own sweet will, content to fol- 
low him until he has gained some little insight and 
become somewhat accustomed to the new life just 
opening before him. See with what eager pleasure 
he explores the hidden mysteries of the covert; how 
his every graceful motion tells of joy; how his spark- 
ling eyes mirror his delight. But look! and proudly 
feast your eyes upon the welcome sight — he has dis- 
covered that something is in the wind, and the 
"heaven-born instinct" within has frozen him rigid 
as the rock by his side. Choke down that rising 
lump in your throat; quiet the quick throbbings of 
your heart; and, while blessing your good fortune, 
be cool and collected, for never more need of cool, 
deliberate action than now. Your "dearest foe" is 
near, and faltering eye or trembling hand will insure 
his triumphant escape and cause you unwelcome dis-. 
comfiture. Do not hurry, but, with deliberate haste, 
walk forward and force a rise; calmly, now, and, as 
though on parade and about to shoot at a chip tossed 
in air, coolly bring your gun into position, glance 
along the trusty barrels, and, with "eye of faith and 
finger of instinct," "cut loose," and fortune grant 
your aim be true! The chances are greatly against 
your obtaining a close shot at the first rise, unless 
among young and unsophisticated birds; but shoot 



74 Training vs. Breaking. 

you must, nevertheless, even should the flashing 
form be far beyond your reach, or, as very often 
happens, entirely out of sight, for we are not done 
with him yet; and most potent is the sound of gun 
and whistle of hurtling lead to drive from his crafty 
brain the wisdom that causes him to shun our close 
acquaintance. Should your shot prove deadly and 
the conduct of your dog be all that you could wish, 
with a loving pat and kindly words, lead your pet 
straight to your victim, and as soon as his sensitive 
nose locates the bird, at once pet and praise himi! 
without stint, and talk to him as to an intelligent;] 
companion. After a few seconds you should pick up) 
the bird in a dainty manner, and while carefully! 
smoothing out the feathers, allow the dog to snufiff 
the grateful perfume, but on no account allow him toj 
mouth it or poke his nose among the feathers, thus 
teaching him that the greatest care must be taken 
that not a feather should be displaced. 1 

When your puppy first shows sign that he hass' 
scent, do not on any account speak to him, nor make^: 
any sign, but allow him to act his own pleasure, .j 
Should he go through the trying ordeal to your satis- ' 
faction, congratulate yourself that you are possessed ; 
of a wonder; should his earnest inclination over 
power his innate sense of duty and cause him to 
become unsteady and flush the bird, you must at 
once call him in and place him as near as may be 
in the exact position that he occupied when he 
should have pointed, and commanding him to To-ho. 
give him to understand that you are displeased with! 



In the Field. 75 

the performance. If you have killed the bird, and 
can readily find it, you will add to the force of this 
lesson if you oblige him to retain his position while 
you go and bring it to him, and as you hold it a foot 
or two from his nose, repeat the command of To-ho. 
This, you will find, will cause him to be more care- 
ful in the future. Should he become demoralized 
at the rise of the bird and give chase, do not despair, 
but calmly say To-ho, and if he disregards the com- 
mand, let him go, and be thankful that he has ambi- 
tion, consoling yourself with the knowledge that in a 
short time you can eradicate the fault, while the 
virtue will remain and afford you great satisfaction 
in the future. Do not go after him, but calmly wait 
until he returns, when you should at once replace 
him in the position from which he broke, and make 
him To-ho for a short time, while you talk to him 
about the enormity of the oflfense. It is not advisa- 
ble to shoot when he starts to chase, as, should you 
kill, he may seize the bird and handle it too roughly 
for his future good. Neither does the sound of the 
gun exercise a steadying influence upon his excited 
nerves. Above all else, do not fail to keep perfectly 
cool yourself, under all circumstances, and to issue 
your commands in your ordinary tone of voice, for 
there is nothing so conducive to unsteadiness in 
your dog as his knowledge of the fact that you are 
demoralized, and he is sure to become possessed of 
this knowledge almost before it is apparent to you. 
Therefore, earnestly strive to retain your self-control^ 
for without that you never can turn out a steady dog. 



76 Training vs. Breaking. 

Should your bird escape the first onslaught, let no 
common occurrence prevent you from immediately 
following him up. Do not undertake this in a half- 
hearted manner, but put your whole soul into the 
work, and rest not until you have again routed him. 
Give him a shot as he rises, and if he again escapes 
be not discouraged, but with renewed efforts try him 
again, secure in the knowledge that, can you but 
find and keep him moving — although he may be 
the wisest, and, consequently, the wildest grouse of 
them all — at last your reward is sure. At last, utterly 
demoralized by the relentless persistency of your 
pursuit, he has changed his tactics, and, quietly 
crouching on the ground with fear and trembling, 
waits for you to pass. Fatal mistake! The keen- 
nosed dog, more eager at each successive defeat, 
again becomes statuesque, and unerringly indicates 
the bird's hiding place. Now is the supreme mo- 
ment. With nerves of steel — hardened by the ex- 
citement of the long continued chase — you literally 
kick him from his retreat and coolly bring him down. 
What satisfaction is in your heart as you smooth his 
beautiful plumage; what light is in your eye as you 
gaze upon his plump form; what pride is yours as 
you complacently view the noble prize so gallantly 
won. A glance at the speaking countenance of your 
four-footed friend tells you that he, too, is happy; 
and, our word for it, a few days among these crafty 
birds will do more to develop the hunting sense of 
an intelligent animal than thrice the time devoted to 
the pursuit of any other game. 



In the Field. yj 

How rare it is to see a strictly first-class dog. 
Good ones we may find in abundance, but the para- 
gon, which has no failings and all the virtues, is — 
although often heard of — seldom seen. Glancing 
back through the many years that we have ardently 
followed the delightful sports of the field, we can call 
to mind but few among the many dogs we have seen 
afield that come up to our standard of excellence, and 
those, almost without exception, received their early 
training among the ruffed grouse. There is some- 
thing pertaining to the pursuit of these most cunning 
birds that is potent to sharpen the wits and develop 
the intelligence of your dog that you will fail to find 
accompanying the pursuit of any other game. It is 
for this reason that we endeavor to give our dog his 
firsL lessons in the field upon this bird. We are well 
aware that more than one experienced sportsman 
strongly condemns this best of birds as totally unfit 
to train a dog upon, taking the ground that they are 
so very difficult to bring to bag that the dog becomes 
discouraged. We know that the reverse of this is 
true, for we have given scores of youngsters their 
first tuition among these noble birds, and we have yet 
to see the one who showed the first indication of any- 
thing of the kind; on the contrary, we have ever 
found that — after one or two successful encounters 
with these most wary birds — no matter how long and 
unsuccessful the chase, our pupil's ardor was not 
checked in the least, but seemed to increase with each 
successive defeat. 
As we have before remarked, it is better that nothing 



78 Training vs. Breaking. 

be said to your dog upon his first introduction to 
game, at least, so long as he does nothing wrong, as 
this is an entirely new experience to him, and should 
you bother him with orders he may become confused 
and fail to perform nearly so well as he would if left 
entirely alone. Great care must be taken that he be 
not kept too long at work. We have found that the 
best results were obtained when we have taken our 
dog home after an hour or two, or even sooner, when 
his performance had been satisfactory. We have 
often taken him home at the end of a few minutes 
even, when everything had gone just right and we 
had by abundant praise and caresses impressed indel- 
ibly upon his mind that his behavior was pleasing to 
us, thus leaving him to ponder over the matter in a 
happy state of mind that would cause him to look 
forward with eager anticipation to future enjoyment 
of other blissful hours among the birds. This is 
better than going on and, possibly, being obliged to 
take him off at a time when something of a disagreea- 
ble nature has occurred that will exert a depressing 
influence upon his susceptible mind and, perhaps, 
cause him to dread or, at least, to feel indifferent 
about the performance. After one or two outings, 
and he has become somewhat accustomed to the new 
experience, you can safely commence to teach him 
what he may and may not do; you can in a measure 
control his range and dictate as to the direction that \ 
you wish him to take, using great care that you do 
not restrain him too much at first, but very slowly 
and by easy steps you should gradually teach him to 



In the Field. 79 

look to you for guidance; and if you pursue the 
proper course he will soon obey your lightest word 
as readily as when taking his regular lessons at home. 
This result can be obtained in this manner much 
sooner and much better than by trying to control him 
and to make him do everything just right from the 
start, only bear in mind that when you do order him to 
do anything, insist upon prompt obedience every 
time. Among the first things that you should en- 
deavor to instill into his mind is the knowledge that 
he must "work to the gun." This can be very easily 
accomplished if you will pursue the proper course. 
In the first place, under no circumstances should he 
be allowed to flush the birds. Not so much perhaps 
that it will make him unsteady, for many dogs can 
be taught to flush their birds to order without detract- 
ing from their steadiness, but such a course we have 
found decidedly unsteadies the wary grouse and ren- 
ders them less apt to lie close than when they are 
walked up by the hunter. This is also the case, al- 
though in less degree, with the quail. With the 
woodcock we do not believe that it makes much dif- 
ference, yet we would advise that under all circum- 
stances, no matter how great the temptation, your 
dog be not allowed to flush his bird, for many really 
good dogs are ruined by this practice; besides, as a 
rule, the more killing as well as sportsmanlike way is 
to walk up your bird. This practice you will find 
will soon make you a better shot than you can ever 
hope to be if you constantly keep in the openings and 
trust to the chances there to be obtained. Your dog 



8o Training vs. Breaking. 

will also improve much faster if you pursue this 
course, for he will instinctively realize that you are 
with him body and soul, and consequently he will put 
forth his best efforts and soon learn the grand secret 
of "working to the gun." This very valuable trait is 
rarely found in a dog unless the gun has first set the 
example by working to him. Ponder this well and 
try to realize what the thoughts of your dog must be 
when you leave him on his point, and, sneaking off to 
one side, or perhaps to his rear out of sight, bid him 
put up the bird which he knows full well by experi- 
ence will fly into the cover instead of out. 

We always require our dog, while young, to 
staunchly hold his point until ordered on. He will 
easily learn this if you steady him a few times and do 
not allow him to stir until you are beside him. This, 
if rightly managed, will prove a very killing trait, but 
unless the proper course is pursued your dog is apt 
to acquire the very bad habit of making false points. 
Great good judgment is required to so conduct his 
training in this that it may prove a source of pleasure 
instead of disappointment. Your knowledge of his 
disposition will aid you in adopting the right course 
to accomplish the desired result. 

As soon as you observe that he has scent, com- 
mand him to To-ho, and keep him on point until 
you are nearly beside him, when, without stopping, 
you must cluck to him to go on, accompanying the 
cluck with a wave of the hand; and walk just behind 
him until he again stops. Should he be unwiUing 
to move on at your first order, you must not stop. 



» 'I 



In the Field. 8i 

neither should you pass by him, but keep stepping, 
even if you have to put your feet in the same place, 
and again cluck, or perhaps you may have to speak 
to him. Should he still remain staunch, the chances 
are that the scent is strong, and that the game may 
be close by, in which case you should advance and 
flush the bird; and if the conduct of your dog has 
been irreproachable, kill if you can; but on no ac- 
count must you shoot unless his behavior has been 
all that you could wish, for one of the most important 
lessons to impress upon his mind is that, just so 
surely as he does not perform his part in a proper 
manner, just so surely no birds will be the result. 

Do not forget, if his performance has been worthy, 
to pet and praise him; while on the other hand, if no 
bird has been found, you should return behind him 
and order him on, and let him know that this is not 
the proper way, but that he must move on until he is 
near the bird. This is rather a delicate matter, and 
often requires nice discrimination to determine just 
what to do, for there is not a second to be lost in 
deliberation, and instant action should betaken; for 
if you hesitate, your dog may become addicted to 
making false points or pottering, and, rather than 
this, it will be far better to score an occasional flush. 
Should he flush a bird by moving up, even if you 
have ordered him on, you must instantly check him 
and bring him back to the place where he should 
have remained staunch, and keep him at To-ho a 
short time, while you chide him for the offense. 
After a few lessons of this kind — perhaps, even, on 



82 Training vs. Breaking. 

the second occasion — you should order him on a 
Uttle before you reach his side, and at each succeed- 
ing time you should do this still further away, until 
he will, at the motion of the hand, move on when 
you are quite a distance from him. If he is possessed 
of a reasonable amount of intelligence, and you pur- 
sue the proper course, he will soon understand just 
what you wish, and always stop at the first indication 
of scent and look at you for the signal to go on, 
instead of following up the trail, perhaps out of your 
sight, and oftentimes causing you no end of trouble 
to find him. He will also soon harn to move on of 
his own accord when the scent is not just to suit, 
provided he knows that you can see him and are 
coming his way. This accomplishment is invaluable 
when one is shooting in thick covert, or beating the 
snipe meadows, while it can work no possible harm 
either on the prairie or stubble. 

Of course, we cannot lay down instructions that 
will cover every case, as there are so many different 
circumstances connected with the events of a single 
day, and the dispositions of the different animals are 
also so widely dissimilar that it is impossible for us 
to give anything more than a general outline of the 
course to be pursued. We take it for granted that 
the reader of ordinary intelligence who has followed 
us thus far has gained some conception of our sys- 
tem, and that his own good sense, coupled with the 
intimate knowledge that he must possess of the dis- 
position and intelligence of his pupil, will safely tide 
him over any minor difficulties that may occur. 



VII. 
WORKING IN COMPANY. 

IN the previous chapters we have carefully re- 
frained from saying anything about the great 
benefit to be derived from having a trained dog to 
assist you in perfecting your pupil in his lessons. 
We have purposely pursued this course in order to 
show the new beginner that he can safely rely upon 
his own resources, and surely bring his pupil through 
all right, without any assistance. Nevertheless we 
have found that an old dog, that is well tramed and 
steady, is of great importance in perfecting the pupil 
in the rudiments as well as the higher branches of 
his education; and we cannot forbear devoting a 
little space to the subject. In the first place our 
canine co-worker should be thoroughly trained and 
quick to obey; he must also be very intelligent 
and of good disposition. You should let the two 
associate together from the first, and they will soon 
become attached to one another, unless the old dog 
is unusually surly. We do not recommend that the 
puppy should receive any guidance from the old dog 



84 Traiiting vs. Breaking. 

until he is sufficiently grounded in his lessons to un- 
derstand what is required of him. Thus, in teaching 
him to To-ho, after he will go through the perform- 
ance fairly, we take the old dog into the pen with 
him, and after they have had a little time at play we 
take the puppy in our arms, and making sure that he 
sees all that is going on, we place two pieces of meat 
on the ground about two feet apart, and, calling up 
the old dog, make him, at the word To-ho, point one 
of the pieces. We then walk around a little, with 
the puppy still in our arms, taking care that he can 
see the performance all the time. We then place 
him with his nose within a few inches of the second 
piece, and telling him to To-ho, make him wait a few 
seconds, and then cluck as a signal that each one 
can eat his piece. This will have a wonderfully 
steadying effect upon the puppy, especially when you 
come to prolong the time a little, for he, seeing that 
the old dog is perfectly staunch and steady, will soon 
learn to emulate him. He will also acquire the very 
important habit of remaining steady when in the 
company of other dogs. This we consider of great 
importance, and under all circumstances we accus- 
tom him to doing his work in the presence of his 
companions, even if we have to impress the services 
of a cur, and chain it in one corner of the pen. 
If this latter course has to be adopted, it is not 
necessary that it should be commenced until our 
pupil is somewhat advanced in his education, as 
the only object in view is to accustom him to per- 
form his duties in the presence of other dogs, and 



Working in Company. 85 

to lay the groundwork of that steadiness when among 
strangers that is so pleasing to see. So particular 
are we in this, that we invariably train our puppy to 
point a piece of meat and stand perfectly staunch, 
while his companion takes the bit and eats it. This 
he will readily learn to do if you immediately reward 
him with another piece. If he is well trained in this 
he will not annoy you by going to pieces should half a 
dozen dogs rush in upon the bird that he is pointing. 

After our puppy is well acquainted with the old 
dog and has become accustomed to the chain, they 
should be coupled together for a short time each day 
until he gets used to it. We shall find further on 
that this will be a great help to us. The coupling 
chain should be short with two good swivels. Most 
persons make a mistake in having the coupling chain 
too long. Four inches is plenty long enough when 
your dogs are anywhere near of a size, and you will 
generally find it long enough under any circum- 
stances. Should the old dog be very high-headed, 
the chain can easily be lengthened an inch or two. 
After they go well together and our pupil has learned 
the meaning of To-ho, and minds fairly, you will find 
that it will be of great benefit to him to practice him 
when coupled to the old dog, for the example of the 
latter will steady him, which is a matter of great im- 
portance, and once his mind is thoroughly impressed 
with the idea that he must hold his position, even 
when in fear that his companion will secure the 
tempting morsel, it will be comparatively easy to 
keep him up to his work. He will also learn to re- 



86 Training vs. Breaking. 

main quiet at charge with much less trouble to you if 
coupled to the old dog. As he grows older and you 
begin to lengthen the time that he must remain in 
this position, we should by all means recommend this 
course; indeed we have found that the services of a 
well trained, steady dog are invaluable all through 
until our pupil's education is complete. As we have 
before remarked, the assistance of the old dog should 
never be called in requisition until our pupil has been 
taught his lesson and is somewhat proficient in its 
performance, then he can understandingly view the 
old dog as he performs the task, and if he is reason- 
ably intelligent he will soon learn to imitate his 
steadiness. 

We shall also find, if our puppy is inclined to work 
too close to us when quartering his ground, that the 
example of the old dog will soon cause him to in- 
crease his range. We much prefer that he should 
range freely of his own accord, but if he does not 
quite please us in this, we couple him to the old dog 
and practice them together until we obtain satis- 
factory results. Great caution must be observed in 
this and the lessons must not be too frequent nor too 
long continued, or our pupil will lose his independ- 
ence and form the very bad habit of looking to his 
companion to cut out the work, which will seriously 
detract from his usefulness in the field. 

As it is very desirable that our dog should possess 
a fair amount of speed, we should so conduct his ex- 
ercise that when we come to cut him loose in the field 
he will not potter and poke, but at once strike a 



Woj'king ill Co77ipa7iy. 87 

slashing gait and with head well up take to his work 
like a veteran. Many dogs can never become fast, ■ 
but if in selecting your puppy, you have followed the 
instructions that we have laid down, and have secured 
a well formed one with plenty of life and spirit, there 
will be no trouble in bringing him out a fairly speedy 
animal; indeed, we have taken in hand old dogs that 
were decidedly slow, and in a few weeks, by judicious 
management, have succeeded in turning them out 
astonishingly fast. Of course, we cannot give in- 
structions that will enable you to infallibly produce 
a speedy animal, but if you will intelligently follow 
our plan, you can in most cases succeed in accom- 
plishing your purpose. Do not forget, in your 
anxiety for speed, that a fast dog with a slow nose is 
nearly worthless; therefore, before you attempt to 
force the pace, you should thoroughly satisfy your- 
self that your pupil's olfactory organs are all right; 
you can form a nearly correct opinion upon this 
point by carefully watching him while he is at play, 
and taking note of each time that he "winds" any- 
thing that attracts him, and paying close attention to 
the distance he is from the object. This, though not 
an infallible test, will generally give you a very good 
idea of his powers. Should he appear to have a 
quick sensitive nose and you desire to quicken his 
gait, try the following plan, and our word for it, if 
you pursue the proper course, you will be astonished 
at the improvement he will show in a few lessons. 

When commencing these lessons you should select 
for exercise ground a large open field, and if the 



88 Training vs. B7^eaking. 

surface is undulating, it will be all the better, for 
when the old dog disappears over the knolls it will 
make the puppy all the more eager to join him. 
When you arrive at the ground you should let the 
old dog go, and keep the puppy close at heel until 
he gets quite impatient, taking great care not to 
overdo the matter by keeping him under restraint too 
long, nor on the other hand should you let him go 
until he is in the proper frame of mind to put forth 
his best efforts when he hears the welcome signal. 
If you have acquired such knowledge of his disposi- 
tion and temper as you should have done, you will 
be sure, by closely watching him, to hit upon just the 
instant, when his impatient feelings are at their 
highest, to give him the word to go on. If this order 
is given in an eager tone, accompanied with a quick 
step or two forward, you will find that your pupil will at 
once start with an eager rush, and put forth his best 
efforts to catch the old dog. You should carefully 
watch him, and as soon as he slacks his speed, call 
him in at once and keep him at heel until he is again 
impatient, when you can repeat the performance. If 
this course is understandingly pursued, your pupil 
will soon learn that in order to have his liberty he 
must not potter, and he will in a short time astonish 
you with his greatly improved gait. The speed of 
almost any dog can be improved in this way, but the 
best results are obtained when your (iog is possessed 
of a high-strung, nervous temperament. With such a 
one properly handled marvelous improvement is sure 
to follow. 



Working in Company. 89 

You will also f:nd that the example of the old dog 
will be productive of much good, when you begin 
to accustom your pupil to the sights and sounds 
of the street; and you will be spared much trouble 
in way-wising him if you couple them together 
when taking a walk through the streets, especially if 
you are in a city where each sight and sound is new 
to him, for he will not only see that his companion is 
unconcerned, and thereby acquire confidence, but he 
will soon learn that he cannot bolt should anything 
strange occur, and in a short time he will become 
steady, and behave like a veteran. 

Backing is an accomplishment that affords much 
pleasure; in fact, one-half of our enjoyment, when 
shooting over a brace of dogs, is in witnessing the 
faultless performance of a well-trained animal, as he 
instantly honors the point of his companion. This 
accomplishment is inherent in many dogs, and is as 
natural to them as the instinct of pointing; yet there 
are many first-class animals who will not back a com- 
panion's point, but will work forward until they 
obtain the scent. This is always unpleasant, and 
often not only mars our enjoyment of the sport, but 
the practice is very apt to unsteady the other dog, 
especially when the dog that should back thrusts his 
nose a little ahead, which he is very prone to do. 
The dog that will remain perfectly steady and 
staunch while his companion repeatedly practices 
this, is indeed a treasure, and worthy fairer treat- 
ment. That your dog will not be the one to com- 
mit such a fault you can rest assured, if you have 



go Ti^ainhtg vs. Breaking. 

carefully followed our instructions in his early train- 
ing, and will intelligently handle him when he first 
goes into the field with a companion. As we have 
often remarked, first impressions play a very important 
part in the subsequent behavior of your dog; there- 
fore you should be very careful that nothing occurs 
that will give him any wrong notions. The first 
time that you take him out with another dog, they 
should be well acquainted, if possible, or at least 
have time to play together until they become some- 
what used to each other. You should be accom- 
panied by a friend, to have the care of the other dog, 
while you keep your pupil close to heel until the 
other dog finds and comes to a point. Be very care- 
ful now, and as soon as your dog catches sight of 
him, raise your hand and bid him To-ho; and on no 
account must you stir so much as a finger, but remain 
perfectly quiet and staunch, as though you were also 
backing, until your companion has flushed the bird. 
Your example will have much to do in perfecting 
his steadiness; and you will find that, after a few 
lessons of th's kind — even should he possess no natu- 
ral inclination to back — he will understand what is 
required, and instantly back of his own accord as 
soon as he catches sight of a companion s point. 



VIII 
CONCLUSION. 

WE have given in the preceding chapters, as well 
as- we are able, the outlines of the course 
that for more than a quarter of a century we have 
successfully pursued in preparing our dogs for lives 
of usefulness; and we believe, yes, we know, that if 
any one — we care not how wedded he may be to the 
force system — will but give our method a fair trial, 
the whip and check cord will henceforth form no 
part of his kennel appurtenances, for not alone does 
our system exercise an ennobling influence upon our 
pupil, thus making him much better qualified to 
become our companion, but the better and finer feel- 
ings of our nature are not blunted and brutalized by 
the cruel associations necessarily present when the 
lash is applied to the shrinking form; nor is our en- 
joyment of the pleasures of the field marred by con- 
stantly recurring struggles with the sharer of our 
sport, who should be our obedient as well as loving- 
friend. As the Hon. George Ashmun once remarked 
to us: "The humane system and the force system 



92 Training vs. Brcaki^ig. 

both accomplish the result of bringing man and dog 
toward the same plane; the one by elevating the 
brute, the other by lowering the human creature." 

In all our lessons we have endeavored to impress 
upon the reader the great importance of carefully 
studying the disposition of the pupil in order that 
he might intelligently apply their teachings. We 
have also tried to show the paramount necessity of 
a very cautious advance at each successive step. 
Yet so very important a matter do we deem this that 
we cannot forbear again calling your attention to it, 
and agam cautioning you to use the utmost care in 
all your lessons, and to so manage that your dog 
shall not become overtrained, for this, although quite 
common, is a very serious fault, and one that will 
require a long time to overcome, if, indeed, you can 
ever quite eradicate it; and in order to secure that 
cheerful, willing obedience that is so desirable, it will 
be far better that you should devote plenty of time 
to the proper development of your pupil, rather than 
by undue haste to bring him out only partially trained 
or cowed and disheartened by a too close or too long 
continued drilling at tasks that should be his delight 
instead of dread. In perfecting your pupil in his 
work in the field, great care must be taken that he 
always performs his task in a faultless manner, and 
no thought of present enjoyment should induce you 
for an instant to relax that constant surveillance and 
watchful care that you have bestowed upon him 
while practicing him at home. There is no more 
prolific cause of the unsteadiness and disobedience 



Concbision. 93 

exhibited by so many of the dogs we meet than 
the overlooking of the little faults that scarcely ap- 
pear worth noticing. As we have before remarked, 
anything that is worth doing is worth doing well, and 
in nothing is this more apparent than in the educa- 
tion of your dog. We don't mem by this that you 
should be constantly nagging him and breaking his 
spirit with an incessant repetition of commands, but 
that when you do give an order you should see to it 
that it is at once obeyed and to the very letter. 

Especially should he be restrained from manifest- 
ing any unsteadiness or uneasiness when in the pres- 
ence of crippled birds. This can only be accom- 
plished by a faithful adherence upon your part to 
the rules that you have established to govern his 
conduct, and by yourself invariably setting the ex- 
ample that you wish him to follow, as any excitement 
upon your part or undue haste to secure the bird is 
sure to be impressed upon his susceptible mind, and 
cause you no end of trouble in the future. Better 
by far that you should Icse a dozen birds than that 
your dog should become unsteady. When it i3 pos- 
sible, we always shoot a cripple before our young 
dog, and we have in every instance found that this 
course, especially when he could see the perform- 
ance, exercised a steadying influence upon him, and 
also taught him to love, and have confidence in, the 
gun. After sufficient experience ia the field, and 
when your dog appears to understand just what you 
require of him, he may safely be allowed to capture 
the fluttering bird, with no fear that it will cause 



94 Traming vs. Breaking. 

him to become unsteady or depart from the teachings 
of his early days, for the course that we have pur- 
sued has wonderfully developed his reasoning facul- 
ties, and there will be no trouble in easily teaching 
him to comprehend that when ordered to retrieve a 
crippled bird, no license is thereby granted him to 
indiscriminately rush for every one that starts. 
When once we have our dog under the perfect 
control that it has been our aim to achieve, it is 
comparatively an easy matter to keep him up to his 
work, as our knowledge of his disposition and his 
knowledge of our method will render an occasional 
word all that will be required. 

Having brought teacher and pupil safely afield, 
we shall now regretfully take our leave of them, 
trusting that not entirely in vain have been our 
labors, and that at least some of the new recruits to 
the vast army of sportsmen may be induced to follow 
the course here marked out, and by their success en- 
courage others to try our humane system of training. 

Upon carefully reviewing our pleasant task, we 
are painfully impressed with the many shortcomings 
and imperfections of its execution; the most serious of 
these is the failure to express the ideas that we wish 
to convey in a satisfactory manner. Although to 
the best of our abilit/ we have endeavored to impart 
the knowledge gained by a large experience, we yet 
feel that we have but crudely and imperfectly ac- 
complished our purpose. There appears to be an 
indescribable, intangible something lacking which 
our pen is unable to portray. 



Conclusion. 



95 



There is a mysterious and subtle power, inherent 
in some individuals, and gained by others only with 
long experience, that enables its possessor to exact 
from the lower animals by a single word or look an 
instant and willing obedience that others cannot 
compel by vociferous commands or even by blows. 
We have always noticed that those who possessed 
this peculiar gift appeared intuitively to understand 
the nature and disposition of the animals under their 
care, and that there was invariably an rlmost elec- 
trical and harmonious sympathy between them. 
Would that we could reveal the secret of this mys- 
terious power; then could we lay aside our pen with 
pride in the belief that we had laid at the feet of the 
sportsman's shrine a worthy offering. 



DAYS AFIELD. 



The One-Eyed Grouse of Maple Run.* 

FIRST let me describe the locality where these 
incidents transpired, that you may the better 
understand some of the evolutions that I shall en- 
deavor to explain. I feel entirely competent to give 
a description of the run, as even now, after the lapse 
of thirteen years, every rock, tree and shrub, every 
bubbling spring, each turn and twist of the little 
brook, even to its every merry dimple and minia- 
ture cascade with its gleesome music, is so indelibly 
engraved upon the tablets of my memory, that I have 
only to mount the wings of thought, and the entire 
scene in all its loveliness is before me. Here, at the 
extreme upper end, is a gigantic rock maple, whose 
leaves on this golden October day are gorgeous in 
their bright array. Just at its foot a silvery stream 
gushes forth, whose sparkling waters are quaffed by 
many a weary one, as the well-worn path and smooth, 
white rock at its side attest. This fountain is the 
commencement of the little brook that I mentioned. 

*Some years ago we penned the following article, which is reproduced 
here in order to give our readers some idea of the pleasures and perils which 
so endear to us the pursuit of "that best of all game birds, the lordly ruffed 
grouse." 



The Grouse of Maple Run. 97 

For the first quarter mile of its course there is an 
occasional young maple, while upon each side, for 
four or five rods, beautiful ferns invite the shy wood- 
cock to their grateful shade. For the next twenty 
y:rds, there is an abrupt fall of as many feet, whose 
steep sides are covered with an almost impenetrable 
growth of witch-hazel, which is now in bloom. 
Notice the pleasing contrast between those sprays of 
lemon-colored blossoms and the dark green of that 
hemlock that towers in a perfect cone, thirty feet 
■above them. Mark well this same hemlock — for 
under its umbrageous branches a dastardly deed was 
attempted that recoiled upon the would-be perpetra- 
tor in a manner that afforded us heartfelt satisfaction. 
I will resume the tale further on. At the foot of the 
fall, and for nearly a mile in length — by a quarter to 
half a mile in breadth — the ground is nearly evel and 
covered with a rank growth of alders, growing in 
bunches, a few feet apart. Between them the grass 
is green the whole year round. This lovely spot is 
appropriately called ''Woodcock's Delight." What 
thrilling emotions fill my heart as, in fancy, I gaze 
upon its many mazy aisles. It seems but yesterday 
that, a happy youth, I was rambling through 
these silent shades. What delicious, glorious hours 
were these, what blessed communings with the God 
of nature, prized by me far more than the famous 
bags of woodcock and grouse that I nearly always 
obtained here. The scene remains the same; but, 
alas! my beautiful friend of the querulous whistle is 
gone, I fear forever — slain by the ruthless hand of 



98 The Gj^ozise of Maple Run. 

him who should protect instead of destroy. Slajji by 
him who, disguised as a sportsman, steals in mid- 
summer upon the callow brood, and murders, ay! 
murders every one; murders the enfeebled and often 
sick mother-bird and her unfledged chicks. May the 
curse of all true sportsmen rest upon you! The 
wrath of the hunter's God already abideth with you, 
for he suffers not his beautiful charges to roam in 
the places you have desecrated and laid waste. Ex- 
cuse this digression, as my heart is broken with the 
utter desolation that abounds. 

Down a gradual descent of a few yards, covered 
with a dense growth of hazel, below the beautiful spot 
that I have just described, we come to a similar piece 
of ground of some twenty acres in extent, that is 
flowed in winter and spring, to furnish motive power 
for a rickety old sawmill. There are no trees nor i 
brush, except a fringe of willows a few yards in 
width entirely around the edge of the now dry pond. 
Below the mill a rocky gorge, grown up with hem- 
locks, leads us down a descent for a hundred yards or 
more, when we come to a level open meadow, bor- 
dered upon one side by a splendid grove of magnifi- 
cent white oaks that covers full fifty acres. Across 
the meadow and two hundred yards away there is a 
tangled thicket of scrub-oak, overgrown with briers. 
At the lower side of both grove and thicket, sunny, 
knolls partially covered with birches trend obliquely, 
down stream, meeting on the banks of the brook 
some five hundred yards below. From here to the; 
river, about a mile away, there is a beautiful cover 



The Grouse of Maple Run. 99 

nearly a mile in width, cf alders and birches, with an 
occasional maple and walnut tree. This cover ends 
on the bank of the river, in a narrow grove of im- 
mense hemlocks. Trusting that you will retain 
enough of my rather tedious description to follow us 
through our arduous and long-winded chase, we will 
shoulder our guns and start for Maple Run. 

But first allow me to introduce to you my com- 
panion — old Tom Rood, as thorough a sportsman as 
it has ever fallen to my lot to encounter — a perfect 
gentleman, a first-rate shot and well skilled in all that 
pertains to woodcraft. Tom is possessed of an 
abundance of this world's goods, and spends most of 
his time in the forest, as his nut-brown phiz and wiry 
frame attest. When he is not shooting or fishing he 
is abroad communing with nature. There is a vein of 
poetry and also a slight tinge of superstition in his 
make-up that with his overflowing cheerfulness make 
him one of the most entertaining companions I have 
ever met. Our present trip originated with him, as 
he had the day before, while resting on the bank of 
the river, at the mouth of the brook, seen, to use his 
words, a "spectre patridge." 

While lying at full length on the grass, this bird 
had flown across the river and alighted within a few 
feet of him. As he looked up, at the slight noise she 
made, she walked up within two yards of his head. 
Examining her closely, he discovered that on the 
side toward him her eye was gone. Just as he had 
noticed this, she turned her head, and Tom solemnly 
averred that her good eye was as large as that of an ox; 



loo The Grouse of Maple Rtin. 

and far more brilliant than the purest diamond. Her 
feathers were of a pale cream color; her ruff was 
light cherry, as was the band across her tail. Taking 
this in at a glance, and wishing to secure so unique 
a specimen, he reached for his gun, when this spectre 
bird slowly sank into the ground, and Tom, awe- 
struck, left the uncanny spot and started for home. 
When nearly a hundred yards away, he heard a roar 
that caused him to look back, and there was the 
spirit, going like a streak, up the run. You should 
have heard Tom tell the story, and have seen the 
weird look in his eyes as he described the scene. 

Always on hand when sport was to be had, 
readily joined him, as, undoubtedly, this was a wary 
old bird, that would show us some fun. We soon 
arrived at the place where he had seen her last, and 
commenced a chase, the like of which I never ex- 
pect to see again. We little thought, when we 
started the dogs that beautiful morning, and gaily 
followed them, so full of life and hope, our exuberant 
spirits welling forth in lively joke and quick repartee, 
that evening's shade would find us a weary, used-up 
pair, wending our way homeward with halting steps, 
and no word of cheer to lighten the path. I will not 
anticipate, but try and be calm while I recount the 
story of our sorrows. 

Our dogs, Start and Stop, soon found a trail, and 
taking our usual places — Tom on their right flank, 
and I on the left — we slowly moved on up the run. 
The scent soon became hot, and the dogs refused to 
advance another step. We went ahead to raise the: 



The Grouse of Maple Ritn. loi 

bird, and had gone some distance beyond the dogs, 
when, with a thunderous roar close to my ears, this 
spook of a bird rose behind me. I whirled around, 
and catching my foot in something, down I went full 
length, and as it is my practice to shoot when a bird 
rises near enough, my gun went off just as I struck 
the ground, happily without doing any damage. 
"First knock-down for the Spectre," cried Tom, who 
appeared to enjoy the sport even more than I did. 
As he had caught a glimpse of the bird, and was 
sure that it was the one we were looking for, we 
turned short to the left and followed on her course, 
which led toward the upper corner of the cover. 
The dogs soon struck her trail, and worked it up 
nearly to the corner and came to a full stop. Tom, 
being the nearest, went on the outside, and I walked 
toward him, expecting of course that one of us 
would get a sure shot. I could not raise the bird, 
and went back to the dogs, and, at the word, they 
moved on up to the wall, and came to a point at a 
hole that led through to the other side. I got them 
over the wall, and they roaded her several rods in 
the open lot a few feet from the wall. I was in the 
cover opposite them, and was suddenly startled by a 
loud cry of "Mark" from Tom, accompanied by a 
few forcible words, expressive of his disgust. I heard 
no rise, and went over to him to see what it all 
meant, when he explained that the bird had risen 
some twenty rods away without making the slightest 
noise, and flown down on the outside as far as he 
could see. We were both of us beginning to get 



102 The Grouse of Maple Rtm. 

interested, and followed on in pretty good order, 
considering that we had been outgeneraled at every 
turn. 

The dogs, after considerable work, found her trail 
in the open lot, and followed it some distance, when 
we saw her rise a long way ahead and swing to the 
left for the birch knoll that I have already described 
as leading up to a scrub-oak and brier cover. She 
was not near enough for me to see very distinctly, 
but I could readily see that she was of a very light 
color. Sending Tom ahead to cut her off, should 
she attempt to make for the briers, I took the dogs 
and beat up the knoll, and soon had a beautiful point 
from Start that was handsomely backed by Stop. I 
knew by the eager way old Start's jaws were quiver- 
ing that the bird was close by, and, stepping in 
ahead of him, was disgusted at seeing nothing but 
an ordinary grouse flounder up; but as the ruling 
passion was ever strong, I pocketed my chagrin, and, 
drawing a bead on him, brought him down. At the 
report of the gun our one-eyed friend rose twenty 
rods away, and knowing that it was sure death to 
attempt the briers, flew across the open meadows 
and went for the white oak grove, and I lost sight of 
her among the tops of the tallest trees. In vain we 
beat the whole cover in that direction, we could get 
no trace of her. Concluding that she had "treed," 
we commenced thumping each tree in the vicinity 
where I had seen her last, and soon routed her. She 
pitched down from the top of a tall tree like a rocket 
reversed, and not until two or three feet of the 



The Gi^otLSC of Maple Run. 103 

ground did she alter her course. She received our 
fire with a cool complacency that was not shared by 
us, and skimming along close to the ground across 
the meadow, we saw her swing into the hated brier 
cover. Ordinarily we did not beat this cover, for it 
was not only terribly thick, but the briers were fear- 
ful. But we were after this bird, "with all that this 
implies," and did not stop to count the cost; but, 
after taking a few moments' rest, and eating our 
lunch, boldly faced the music, and were soon forcing 
our way through the tangled mass. The dogs soon 
found her trail and commenced roading, and for 
more than an hour we followed this goblin bird 
before we could force her to rise, which she finally 
did quite unexpectedly close by Tom, and just as he 
had stooped and was forcing his way through a par- 
ticularly bad bunch of briers. He gamely struggled 
to an upright position and delivered his fire, but 
could not tell whether both eyes were open or shut; 
as, when he commenced to straighten up, a brier 
caught him just under his right eye, and plowed a 
ghastly furrow across his face, and half cut off the 
lower portion of his ear. When I joined him I could 
not forbear saying: 

"First blood for the Spectre." 

A grim smile lit up one side of his face — the other 
side was covered with gore, and I was doubtful if he 
greeted my pleasantry with more than half a smile. 
As our bird had flown straight for the mouth of the 
rocky gully, we soon came to water, and after bind- 
ing up our wounded as well as we could, we once 



104 The Grouse of Maple Run. 

more "returned to the charge." Toiling up the 
steep and slippery ascent, we flushed her from 
behind a rock, which she kept between her and us 
until well out of shot. Thinking that she would 
keep on as far as the hazel gully, we made a detour 
to avoid the terrible ascent, and skirted the edge 
until we came to the old mill, when, each taking a 
side of the pond and beating the fringe of willows^ 
we came together at the head of the pond. We 
hunted up the hazel gully, and over a large portion 
of alder cover, bringing to bag several grouse and 
woodcock, but saw no sign of our especial friend. 

On our return, we met a man who said that he 
had just started a white partridge from the wheel- 
pit of the old mill, and that it had gone down the 
run. Although it was nearly night, with one accord, 
and without a word, we both wheeled and headed 
down the gorge. When near the lower end the dogs 
cams to a staunch point. Thinking that the bird 
would go for the briers again, I clambered up the 
side, and had just reached the top, when this fiend- 
ish bird, with a malignity of purpose that I have 
never seen equaled, started aud flew straight for my 
head. Tom could not see me, but I saw him raise 
his gun, and I threw myself flat on the ground, just 
in time to catch half a dozen pellets, but happily 
dodging the full charge. I had supposed that he 
was shooting fine shot, but was now ready to make 
oath that each one was bigger than a pumpkin. The 
bird was unharmed, and flew directly over me. She 
did not see me until within four feet of my head, and 



The Grouse of Maple Run. 105 

I shall never forget the scared expression of that 
bird's countenance. The tuft on her head rose right 
up, like the clown's hair in the pantomime, and, con- 
vulsively beating the air with her wings, she, knowing 
what to expect, cringed and quivered in mortal fear. 
Springing to my feet, I deliberately sighted her 
across the barrels and pulled the trigger. No report 
followed, and, upon examining for the cause, I found 
the mainspring broken. I must confess that things 
looked a little shaky, and I was almost persuaded 
that we were, as Tom now insisted, pursuing a 
myth. 

It was now sunset, and, crestfallen and weary, we 
turned our faces toward home. The only words 
spoken by either of us were a mutual good-night, 
when we parted at the fork of the road that led to 
Tom's house. We even forgot that we had any 
birds, and omitted our usual quarrel of each trying 
to make the other take the game. Sadly I traversed 
the short distance home, and letting Start into the 
kitchen, where I knew that he would be well cared 
for, I silently stole up to my room and went supper- 
less to bed. 

I was up betimes the next morning, and after an 
early breakfast, shouldered my spare gun, whistled 
for Start, and took the road for Maple Run, firmly 
resolved to bring home that bird or perish in the at- 
tempt. When I came in sight of the fork of the 
road, there stood Tom leaning on his gun, waiting 
for me. "I knew that you would be here," said he, 
"although nothing was said about it, for the manner 



io6 The Grouse of Maple Rttn. 

and tone in which you said good-night assured me 
that your heart was in the right place, and that you 
had enhsted for the war." 

We made straight for the oak grove, and crossed 
the meadow at the foot of the gorge, and climbing 
the bank to where I had last seen her, took her 
course and entered the briers. We found plenty of 
birds, and had killed several before we found the 
trail of our slippery friend. At last the dog struck 
a trail that led straight away for a long distance, and 
we rightly conjectured that we were now on the right 
track. With every nerve at its utmost tension, our 
guns tightly grasped, and eye and ear strained to 
catch the first signal of her presence, we carefully 
picked our way through the briers until we came 
within a few rods of the lower right hand corner. 
Leaving Tom with the dogs, I retraced my steps a 
short distance, and noiselessly crawled to the edge, 
and taking a position twenty yards out in the open, 
silently advanced toward the corner, and had reached 
within fair gun shot of it, and was congratulating 
myself that I had her sure, when, hearing a slight 
noise at my right, I turned, and, just out of shot, 
saw this confounded bird, silent as a ghost, flitting 
away straight out in the open. I watched her a long 
distance, and saw her alight on the top of a stone 
wall. I called Tom and explained the situation to 
him, and was much amused to see the wild, half- 
scared expression of his eyes as he said: 

"We will stick to her as long as she has a feather 
left, but I know it's of no use; she will half kill us 



The Grouse of Maple Run. 107 

with her tomfoolery, and finally vanish in a cloud of 
smoke." 

I added: "Or sink into the ground again." 
This shot had its desired effect^ and, after a brief 
look at the situation, we decided that I should go so 
far around that she could not see me, and get 
between her and the cover near the river that she 
would undoubtedly make for, while Tom was by a 
flank movement to send her to me, and after I had 
killed her we were going back into the briers, to 
attend to a number of birds that we had started 
there. I went around, and carefully keeping out of 
sight behind a favoring knoll, I reached the wall 
some three or four hundred yards below her, and 
crawling behind a rock, lay down and peered over 
the top of it, obtaining a good view of the whole 
performance. Tom by this time had obtained an 
offing, and was bearing down straight for her. 
When within a hundred yards of her, he com- 
menced singing at the top of his voice, that well- 
known hymn: 

"On Jordan's stormy banks I stand," 
and, as the wind was right, I could distinguish every 
word, and was thoroughly enjoying the music, as 
Tom was gifted with a grand voice, when I saw him 
suddenly bring his gun to his shoulder, and then, 
with a half turn, he went down all in a heap. Know- 
ing that the bird had started, I strained my eyes to 
get sight of her. I soon saw her just over the wall, 
coming straight for me. Waiting until she was 
within shot, and, knowing that I had a dead sure 



io8 The GroiLse of Maple Rmi. 

thing on her this time, I sprang to my feet, and, 
facing the way she was going, brought my gun to 
my shoulder and coolly waited until she should get 
past me. Glancing in her direction, I was thunder- 
struck to find that she was nowhere to be seen. A 
strange, unearthly feeling of awe crept over me, my 
hair commenced to rise, my knees knocked together, 
and I felt that I was indeed in the presence of some- 
thing supernatural. This feeling lasted but a second 
or two, as, upon looking down the wall, I saw 
this phantom, a hundred yards away, rise from under 
its protecting shelter and disappear over the top of 
the alders. Feeling that I was deeply wronged, I 
sadly turned toward Tom for sympathy, and was 
surprised to see him sitting on the ground and beck- 
oning for me to come to him. When I got there I 
found that he had sprained his ankle so badly that he 
was unable to stand. With shamefacedness and 
many expressions of heartfelt sorrow that he should 
have so far forgotten himself as to even think of so 
unsportsmanlike an act, Tom confessed that the 
singing was to charm the bird so that he could get • 
near enough to shoot her before she started. Just 
as he raised his gun to fire, one foot went into a hole, 
and, said he, "I received the reward justly my due." 
As we were near the highway, I went over there, 
and had to wait only a few minutes when a team 
came along. We took down the fences and soon had 
Tom safe in the wagon. Although he was suffering 
excruciating torture, I never saw him more cheerful. 
Joke and story came from his lips in a continual 



The Grotise of Maple Run. 109 

stream, and he kept us in a roar all the way home. 
We got him in the house, and, after bathing his foot 
in hot water and seeing him comfortable, I turned to 
go, when he said: 

"I shall have to ride to-morrow, and you had bet- 
ter come here and ride over with me." 

Supposing that he was joking, I took my leave. 
The next morning I got an early start and went to 
his house to see how he was. I was greatly sur- 
prised to find his team at the door and to see him 
hobbling down the steps, using his gun as a cane, 
crying as he saw me: 

"Come on! I had a vision last night, and feel that 
this day will witness the humiliation of our ghostly 
friend, notwithstanding your superstitious belief in 
her invulnerability." 

Thinking that his grit was of the "real old sort," 
I helped him get into the wagon. We drove to the 
sawmill, and, leaving Tom in the wagon, where he 
could command the approaches, I took the dogs and 
started down the run. I had gone but a short dis- 
tance when I met a man who said he had started a 
white partridge several times without getting a shot, 
and that she had gone up the run, and was probably 
in the big alder cover. I explained the situation to 
him, and, joining our forces, we prepared to move on 
the enemy's works once more. Going back to Tom, 
we sent him round to the lower end of the cover, 
while we beat up the fringe of willow and hazel 
thicket. When Tom arrived at his post we heard 
him shout, and when we came up learned that he had 



I lo The Grouse of Maple Run. 

started her close to the edge, and that her course 
was still onward and upward. Sending Tom to the 
upper end beyond the big hemlock, to a knoll, where 
he could overlook the whole ground, we separated a 
few rods and beat up toward him. We had gone 
half way up before we found her trail. I soon heard 
her rise some distance ahead, and saw her, as she 
came over the alders, make straight for the hemlock, 
and alight in its branches. A moment later our ears 
were saluted with the heavy report of a gun from 
under the tree, followed by a prolonged succession 
of unearthly shrieks and yells, that made my hair 
fairly rise. Knowing that some one was in serious 
trouble we started upon a run to see what was the 
matter. I had gone but a few steps when I caught 
a glimpse of a ghostly streak passing overhead. 
Throwing my gun well ahead of it, I pulled the trig- 
ger, and was overjoyed to hear that welcome sound so 
dear to the sportsman's heart — a gentle thud as she 
struck the ground. With quickening pulse I listened 
to the convulsive flutter with which our gallant spirit- 
bird gave up her ghost. I did not go back for her, 
but hastened in the direction of those blood-curdling 
yells that did not cease until we struggled through 
the thicket into the open space under the hemlock, 
where we found an overgrown lout of a boy hanging 
head downward on a slippery ledge, with one foot 
caught in a crevice of the rock. We released him 
unharmed, and went up the bank into the open 
where we found Tom holding his sides and laughing 
like one possessed. As soon as we came to him he 



The Gro2ise of Maple Run. 1 1 1 

turned with flashing eyes upon the culprit, and, shak- 
ing his long, bony finger at him, exclaimed: 

"Served you right — shoot at a poor defenseless 
partridge up a tree, will you? The next time you 
cut such a caper I hope " 

"That you will sprain your ankle," added I, to the 
evident discomfiture of Tom. 

At this juncture old Start made his appearance 
with the bird in his mouth. When Tom saw her he 
exclaimed — and sticks to it to this day — that the dog 
caught her — and that none of us were smart enough 
to ruffle a single one of her beautiful feathers. 



\ 



DAYS AFIELD. 



My Old Dog Trim. 

IT IS with mingled feelings of pleasure and regret 
that I take up my pen to write the biography of 
my old dog Trim, alas! long since translated to the 
happy hunting grounds. Peace be with him, and 
may his future be as pleasant as the days spent on 
earth. May he find in those spirit woodlands num- 
berless ruffed grouse, and obtain for a companion 
some congenial human spirit to roam with him their 
grateful shade until I shall come. Then will his cup 
of happiness overflow, and the reward so well earned 
here be his. 

Trim was rather an ordinary looking pointer, of 
the old Spanish type. His sire came from Cuba, and 
was said to be from stock that had been kept pure 
for more than a hundred years; he was so staunch 
that he was worthless for hunting, as the first scent 
of game that he struck would invariably freeze him 
stiff, and nothing could stir him except brute force. 
I have frequently flushed and killed the bird to his 
point, and after gathering it, and showing it to him 
and vainly trying to induce him to move on — he all 
the while remaining rigid — I have taken him by the 



My Old Dog Trim. 1 1 3 

collar and dragged him many rods away, only to 
have him invariably, as soon as I let go of him, rush 
back to where he found the scent, resume his point 
to stay there, unless forced away, so long as the 
least vestige of taint was in the air. I have known 
him to remain for hours, as I several times left him 
to his fate, and would seldom see him until the next 
morning. I bred him to a very good-looking lemon 
and white bitch, very fast and a good fielder, but 
rather delicate for rough work. The result was a 
fine litter of eight. I selected the subject of (he 
sketch and christened him Trim. He was the best 
dog the world ever produced, and the best one that 
I ever saw. Hold on! I believe I have got that 
standard quotation a little mixed, but as it is gospel 
truth let it stand. 

I had no end of trouble with him in his early days, 
as he did not take kindly to the course of instruction 
that I considered indispensable to his future well 
doing; it was literally a course of sprouts to him. 
After many trials, and much tribulation, I succeeded 
in teaching him to retrieve — when he had a mind to. 
I had no trouble in teaching him to charge, as that 
appeared to be his forte. He was the most listless 
puppy that I ever saw, and could discount the 
original "lazy dog." I should have been utterly dis- 
couraged had I not seen him, when but nine weeks 
old, make several beautiful points on small birds; 
and on rare occasions I had seen him let himself out 
in wonderful bursts of speed. I was hungering and 
thirsting for a dog that would point his game in this 



IT4 My Old Dog Trim. 

same beautiful gamy style, and get round in this same 
lively manner, and so was very patient with him, 
hoping, almost against hope, that he would some 
time brace up and repay me for my trouble. I kept 
him until he was nearly a year old, when my mother, 
who had suffered long but not always in silence, em- 
phatically told me that she would stand it no longer; 
Trim must go. Following close upon this dictum 
was a long list of his sins of omission and commission, 
the former consisting mainly in omitting to get up 
from his favorite place before the fire when any one 
was coming, and this performance had just ended, 
with herself as principal actress, in a wild whirl of 
dress goods and a sad mixing up of v/oman, dog and 
big arm chair. There was a light in her eye that I 
did not dare disregard; therefore, the next morning, 
early, I took Trim about three miles from home, to a 
farmer friend — who had vainly asked me for him 
several times, as he was overrun with woodchucks, 
and thought that the dog would rid him of the pests. 
I left him with him upon conditions that he should 
use him well, and return him to me in the fall when 
I commenced hunting. He thankfully received him 
and promised to take the best of care of him, and 
return him safe. 

I must confess that my feelings on my homeward 
journey were far from agreeable. I had done a dis- 
honorable act; I had' foisted upon my unsuspecting 
and guileless farmer friend a worthless cur. How 
should I ever look him in the face again! On ac- 
count of this feeling I did not go to see Trim, and it 



My Old Dog Trim. 1 1 5 

was more than a month before I saw the farmer. It 
was with conscious blushes and a deep feeUng of 
abjection that I responded to his cheery "How fare 
you ?" and was much surprised when he proceeded 
to laud Trim to the skies. "Why," said he, "I haven't 
fed him a mouthful since he has been there; he 
catches a woodchuck every day, and sometimes two, 
and don't eat anything else." I took an early op- 
portunity to pay Trim a visit, as, notwithstanding his 
many faults, I had a warm place in my heart for him. 
I shall never forget the human expression of his 
eyes as he looked up to me when I spoke his name. 
My eyes were full of tears, and I put my arm around 
his neck and did not speak for some time, and was 
just thinking that the farmer and his wife would 
think that I was foolish, when he said: "Mary, I 
never saw such an expression in any eye, dumb or 
human, but once in my life, and that was up under 
the big elm when I asked a certain little woman a 
certain little question, and she laid her head on my 
shoulder and looked just as that dog did; I really 
believe he's got a soul, and I don't wonder that the 
boy sets such store by him." This was many, many 
years ago, but the scene was impressed indelibly 
upon my memory, and oftentimes, with mental vision, 
I see that loving glance. 

At the urgent request of the farmer, I let Trim 
remain with him until the middle of November, when 
I brought him home and took him out for a hunt. 
If possible he was lazier than ever, and I had hard 
work to keep him with me. He would lie down. 



1 1 6 My Old Dog Trim. 

and I could hardly start him. After a while he 
seemed to understand that it was either travel or 
trouble, and he followed at heel with a dogged look 
that did not augur very well for future usefulness. 
He paid not the slightest attention to the other dog, 
and when I killed a bird he took no notice of it 
whatever; and he continued to act in this manner 
during several trips. One day, when I saw him walk 
through a bevy of quail and the birds rose all around 
him, and he took no more notice of them than if they 
had been so many flies, I was utterly discouraged. 
On my way home I was thinking it over, and the 
more I thought the less I liked it, and I made up my 
mind that I would take him out the next day and 
shoot him. When I started out in the morning I 
told my father that I should leave Trim in the 
swamps unless he showed some sign. It was hard 
to make up my mind to this, but my patience was 
entirely exhausted, and I was heartbroken with his 
apathetic disposition. I hunted through the fore- 
noon with fair success, and had eaten my lunch and 
was just ready to start, when my other dog came to 
a point, right in the path, I walked in ahead and 
flushed a bevy of quail that flew straight down the 
cart path about thirty rods, and scattered in some 
low brush on the hillside. I followed and picked up 
several of them, when I happened to think that I 
had not seen Trim for some time. I whistled, but 
to no purpose, and started back, expecting to find 
him asleep where I had eaten lunch; but when I got 
into the path, and looked up it, I was never more 



I 



My Old Dog Trim. 1 1 7 

astonished in my life than to see this brute of a Trim 
on a staunch point where the birds first started from. 
My mind was in a perfect whirl; I was completely 
dazed, and it was some little time before I stirred 
from my tracks. There was this dog, that had fol- 
lowed me around for two weeks with head and tail 
down, and had never in the whole time shown the 
least sign of intelligence, now wide awake, every hair 
bristling with excitement, his head well up, tail 
straight, and making a magnificent sight as he stood 
in the open, just at the top of rising ground, his 
form outlined upon the clear sky, his jaws quivering 
with excitement, and every angle and curve of his 
body expressing eager desire. Here at last was the 
fruition of my long cherished wish for a dog that 
would make a stylish, gamy point. I walked up to 
him, and, with many a loving pat and kind word, 
endeavored to make him understand that I was in 
full sympathy with him, and that, thenceforth, I was 
his loving friend. It was laughable to see the other 
dog perform. Although one of the best dogs to 
back I ever owned, he was undoubtedly so much 
surprised to see Trim point that he forgot all about 
it, and with a quizzical glance out of the corner of 
his eye up to me, he walked up to him wagging his 
tail, and for half a minute looked at him with such 
a comical expression that I could not help laughing. 
Then he touched his nose to him to see if he was 
alive, and moved a step in front and suddenly froze 
in his tracks. I had supposed until now that Trim 
was pointing the old scent where the birds rose a 



ii8 My. Old Dog Trim. 

half hour before-; but knowing that the old dog 
would not do this, I began to think that there was 
more to the circus than appeared in the bills; so I 
stepped in ahead, when up rose a quail that had 
been left. With a mental prayer that I might be 
loaded with straight powder, I pulled the trigger 
and had the satisfaction of seeing the bird tumble. 
More than pleased with the whole performance, I 
loaded up and ordered the old dog to fetch, when 
Trim, with a rush like the swoop of an eagle, fairly- 
distanced him, and picking up the bird, returned at 
a two-forty gait and laid it in my hand without 
ruffling a feather. To say that I was happy does not 
express more than half of it; I was nearly delirious 
with joy, and I fear that I cut some foolish capers 
and said many silly things. 

It was nearly an hour before I felt steady enough 
to continue my hunt. Somehow I did not expect to 
ever see him make another point, and was very 
agreeably surprised, when I ordered the old dog on, 
to see Trim take the gait of a racehorse and quarter 
his ground like a veteran. He soon struck scent, 
and made another beautiful point. The old dog 
backed him this time without any misgiving. I 
walked up to him and gave him a loving pat, when 
he moved on and I followed close to him for a quar- 
ter of a mile, and such beautiful reading I never 
saw before. He never showed the least doubt or 
hesitancy, but, with his head high in the air, followed 
the birds through brake and brier patch, and finally 
brought up at the edge of a small clump of bushes. 



■ My Old Dog Trim. 



1 19 



After admiring his beautiful /<?j-^ a moment, I kicked 
the bushes, when up rose a full bevy of quail. I 
think that the excitement that I had gone through 
had unnerved me, as I did not harm a feather with 
either barrel. Taking a little time to recover my 
balance, I followed them up and found them among 
some scattered birches. Trim behaved beautifully. 
Of his own accord he took the wind, and, with head 
up, he would locate every bird. 

I had always considered the old dog as first-rate, 
and he was a hard dog to beat, but now he was just 
nowhere. Trim found all the birds and pointed them 
in grand style; his every movement was beautiful to 
see. Talk of the poetry of motion; here it was ex- 
emplified. Every stride was a stanza, and every 
point that he made was a volume. It was with feel- 
ings of deep, heartfelt satisfaction that I wended my 
way home. I felt as though I were walking on air; 
I had visions of glorious sport in the future; hence- 
forth I should feast my fill, and enjoy to the full that 
ecstatic feeling of almost perfect bliss that only he 
can know who has a perfect dog. 

When I told my father in glowing language the 
result of Trim's last trial he did not entirely dis- 
believe me, as he knew that I always carried my little 
hatchet; but expressed a strong desire to go out with 
me the next day and see this paragon, and judge for 
himself. The next morning we were early afoot and 
soon arrived at the covert. Giving Trim the word 
he was off like a shot; we were in an alder run, some 
fifty yards in width, with a broad ditch running the 



\ 



I20 My Old Dog Trim. 

whole length ; Trim was covering the whole ground, 
leaping the ditch at every turn. We had proceeded 
some distance, when, just as he rose to clear the 
ditch, he struck scent, and, as he had not fairly ex- 
tended himself for the leap, in he went neck and 
heels. When we got there we could only see the top 
of his head and the end of his nose; the rest of him 
had sunk in the mud with which the ditch was filled; 
but he had not broken his point; he was as rigid as 
marble. After a little trouble I succeeded in getting 
across to where I could reach him, and, grasping his 
collar, I landed him on the bank and scraped the 
mud from him. He never moved a muscle, but, if 
anything, was more rigid than before. I stepped in 
to raise the bird, supposing that there must be one 
near by, when he carefully moved forward. We had 
gone but a few steps before I noticed that his style : 
was altogether different from that of the day before; 
then he was magnificent; now he was glorious. Not- 
withstanding his bedraggled condition, he was a most 
beautiful sight and something wonderful to behold, 1 
as, with head high in air, his eyes protruding from.fi 
his head, his mouth partly open and froth covering ; 
his lips, he followed the trail as I have often imagined 
the lordly lion moves on his prey; there was no noise 
and his every motion was perfect grace, and when, at;: 
last, he came to a point and refused to advance I: 
another step, we stood some time without speaking, \ 
drinking in with our eyes the wonderful picture. I; 
broke the weird spell by advancing a few steps, when,i[ 
with a mighty roar, up rose four or five ruffed grouse. I 



My Old Do^ Trim 1 2 1 

Catching a glimpse of one that started to fly back, I 
whirled, and throwing my gun in his direction made 
a snap shot, and was rewarded by hearing that soul- 
satisfying thud as he struck the ground. 

Quickly loading, I bade Trim seek dead; he was 
off like a flash, and soon returned with the bird. I 
never saw a dumb brute express more pleasure than 
he; circling round me, with arched neck, he proudly 
carried the bird, and tried plainly to express his joy, 
and to make me understand that this was his game. 
He was very loth to give up the bird, and after I had 
taken it he seemed so disappointed that I let him 
have it again, which pleased him very much, and he 
started off hunting with the bird in his mouth. We 
were very much amused to see him perform, and 
were greatly astonished to see him come to a point, 
still holding the bird in his mouth. Walking up to 
him he commenced reading, and followed the bird 
for more than a hundred yards and finally brought 
him to bay in a corner. As I walked in ahead the 
bird rose and I succeeded in bringing him down. 
After loading I attempted to get the bird still in his 
mouth, but he did not want to give it up, and to see 
what he would do I ordered him to seek dead; he 
soon found it, and dropping the one he had he picked 
up the one just killed and brought it to me, and 
before I had a chance to say a word, was off and 
brought me the other one and gave it up readily. 
We concluded that he thought that the first bird was 
some rare specimen, and the only one that he would 
ever see, and he was therefore not going to lose sight 



122 My Old Dog Trim. 

of it, but finding that the "woods were full of them" 
he thought that I had better carry it. These were 
the first ruffed grouse that he had seen, and I made 
up my mind that, although he loved them so well, 
he would prove their deadly foe — a prediction, I am 
happy to say, that was abundantly verified on many 
occasions in after years. They were emphatically 
his game, and although he was a remarkable quail 
and woodcock dog, and appeared to take great 
delight in their pursuit, there was not the earnestness, 
that high and lofty style that took possession of him 
as soon as he struck the scent of his favorites. A 
very enthusiastic friend, who shot with me a great 
deal, used to say that if I would bring him a single 
hair, plucked from Trim when he was on a point, he 
could tell me what bird was before him. 

There was an incident connected with this day's 
hunt that made a deep and lasting impression upon 
both of us; it was an exhibition of intelligence such 
as we had never witnessed before. Upon our return 
we passed through the alder run, and, on account of 
better walking, kept on the bank of the ditch, with 
Trim close at heel; when we arrived at the place 
where he fell in, he stepped in front and looking up 
at us with a waggish expression in his eye and a 
positive grin on his face, appeared to enjoy the re- 
membrance of his mishap of the morning; we both 
laughed heartily, and I am sure that the dog was 
laughing too. I am well aware that anything of this 
kind, when put on paper, loses a very large portion 
of its most interesting features; it is utterly impossible 



My Old Dog Trim. 123 

to depict the eloquent expression of his eye, or the 
significant wag of his tail; the performance must 
have been seen to be fully appreciated. 

Trim's reasoning faculties were of a high order, 
and I could give you hundreds of instances similar 
to the above, but for fear of being too prolix I will 
forbear; this being the first time that he had dis- 
played this wonderful faculty, it struck us as being 
something remarkable. The day was a glorious 
revelation to me; I caught a glimpse of some of the 
possibilities of ruffed grouse hunting; hitherto I had 
hunted 'them, as almost everyone does, in a hap- 
hazard manner, thanking the gods when I was lucky 
enough to bag one, and not being very particular 
how it was done, provided I got it. I liked the birds 
well enough but had always looked upon them as too 
wild and cunning for me, and had never spent much 
time upon them, devoting nearly all my time to wood- 
cock and quail; but this day's sport had convinced 
me that there was a wealth of genuine, soul-satisfying 
sport in their pursuit that I had not dreamed of, and 
that no more royal game bird graced our forests, an 
opinion that has been strengthened year by year, and 
to-day I would rather take a good dog and follow up 
some old, wary cock grouse, even if I do not get him, 
than to bag a dozen woodcock or quail. Excuse this 
digression, as I am a little daft on the grouse question, 
and when I get going do not know when to stop. 

There was one more revelation connected with this 
day that I caught a faint glimpse of, and that I must 
mention. I thought that I knew about all that was 



124 ^y O^^ D^S Trim. 

to be known about hunting, but before night I had 
the faintest suspicion of the fact that the dog knew 
more than I did about some things, and I had hunted 
but a few days with him before every doubt upon the 
subject was removed, and, ever after, when there was 
any conflict of opinion as to where the birds were, I 
let the dog have his own way. This was brought 
about by observing that when I was at fault in mark- 
ing down a bird, Trim had ideas of his own upon the 
subject, which were generally correct. He was rarely 
at fault, and was possessed of a remarkable faculty 
for locating a flushed bird. He appeared to know 
intuitively just where it would alight. In vain would 
I try to make him hunt closer the particular bit of 
cover where I had seen the bird go down, and after 
several times tramping the spot out myself to no 
purpose, he would, nearly always, lead me straight to 
the bird. Once, I shall never forget, I tried to make 
him go back and work over a corner that we had just 
come through, feeling sure that I had marked the 
bird correctly, and that it was lying close in there; 
he would not budge an inch, but looked back at me 
over his shoulder, slightly wagging his tail, and tried 
to induce me to follow to the next corner, a few rods 
to the right. I was vexed at, what I then thought, 
his sullen humor, and breaking a stick, gave him a 
beating. As soon as I let go of his collar he made a 
bolt for the next corner, and came to a point just at 
its edge, and turned back his head to see if I was 
coming. I followed mechanically, feeling very un- 
comfortable, and that somehow I had done wrong. 



My Old Dog Trim. 125 

When I came up with him he broke his point, and 
making a detour to get the wind, he soon had the 
bird fast. I stepped in ahead, and as soon as the 
bird rose I knew that it was the one that I thought I 
had marked so correctly, as I had shot at it and cut 
a feather or two from its wing, which caused it to 
make a peculiar whistling sound. At the first flutter 
of its wings, such a revulsion of feeling came over me 
as I wish never to experience again; dropping my 
gun I rushed back to the dog and throwing my arms 
around his neck tearfully promised him that never 
more would we have any misunderstanding. Trim 
appeared to realize what was passing in my mind; 
giving me a loving look out of his wondrous, great 
brown eyes, he licked my face — something he had 
never done before. From this time forward we were 
in perfect accord, and I never allowed any doubt in 
my mind to influence me when he intimated to the 
contrary. 

As the season was far advanced I had but few 
more days' sport, but they were replete with a won- 
derful feeling of complete enjoyment, such as I had 
never experienced before. Although Trim started off 
in such grand form he improved visibly every time we 
went out, and it was with deep regret that I hung up 
my gun at the close of the season. I was not aware 
how deep a hold my sporting proclivities had upon me, 
until I could no longer gratify them. So fascinating 
had been the sport, enjoyed in the last few weeks, it 
was a long time before I could think or talk about 
anything else. 



126 My Old Dog Trim. 

Many moons waxed and waned, and still in my 
dreams the roar of the swift-winged grouse, as they 
rose and burst through the tangled covert, only to be 
quickly brought down by my unerring aim, and the 
beautiful and unique positions of Trim, as like 
Nemesis he silently followed them to their fate, gave 
me great consolation and made life, during the close 
season, not quite unendurable. 

It was with happy feelings of glorious anticipation 
that my chosen friend and self, accompanied by Trim, 
sallied forth at early dawn on the first day of the 
open season. Would that I wielded the magic pen 
of a Herbert to describe to you the manifold beauties 
of that lovely morning, and to lead you, step by step, 
through wooded aisle and open glade, and to depict 
in glowing colors the many interesting scenes that 
were constantly transpiring; and, more than all else, 
would I wish to impart to you a portion of the joyful 
feelings that to us were a continual feast; but as my 
pen is only a feeble one at best, I will leave all this 
to your imagination. Suffice it to say that Trim 
more than verified the encomiums that I had lavishly 
bestowed upon him, and converted my friend from 
the error of his ways woodcock-ward, and made him 
a staunch and lifelong devotee at the shrine of the 
lordly grouse. 

There is no game bird in the world that so taxes 
the skill and patience of dog and man, as a sly old 
cock grouse, most fertile in cunning resources to 
evade you and escape, when, seemingly, you have 
him safe. In vain did they essay their most wily 



My Old Dog Trim. 1 2 7 

stratagems with Trim; he was up to all their maneu- 
vers, and I could nearly always tell what particular 
trick a bird was going to play on us by paying close 
attention to the dog. Did it attempt to run and 
gain the vantage of distance, from which to rise well 
out of shot, like a whirlwind Trim was after it, and 
passing on one side of it, a few feet ahead, he would 
turn and point as staunch as a rock, with the sadly 
demoralized bird between us. He would rarely fail 
in forcing the wildest of them to lie securely hid 
until, in numberless instances, I have literally kicked 
them from their hiding-place, so badly scared that 
the veriest tyro could easily have knocked them over 
as they floundered away in a straight line, all the 
conceit that they could twist and double taken out 
of them. Did they endeavor to "swing round the 
circle" and get in our rear, and scare us almost to 
death with their infernal clatter, as they rose from 
the path where we had just passed, secure in the 
knowledge that if they heard the whistle of the shot 
it would not be in their direction, it was generally 
their last swing, for this performance had fooled us 
several times, and appeared to vex Trim, and so 
soon as a curve in the trail led him to suspect the 
trick, his hair would rise, and he would back out 
from the trail and swing for them in a manner that 
they did not appear to understand. Circling at 
break-neck speed, until he got the wind of the now 
confused bird, he would hold it fast and give me an 
easy shot. His wonderful reasoning powers, and the 
tact which he displayed in adapting himself to the 



128 My Old Dog Trim. 

different moods of the birds, were very effective in 
filling the bag. Were they wild and prone to rise 
at a long distance, he would make as much noise as 
a pair of unbroken steers, and thrash around in the 
brush in a manner that stiangers to him would always 
ridicule; but he knew what he was about, and ap- 
proaching the bird in a serpentine course, would get 
as close as he wished, and make his point, from 
which an avalanche could not stir him, and you 
could gD home and get your dinner, with no fear 
but that you would find him there when you returned, 
and the bird too. Were they shy and disposed to 
skulk and hide, no cat more stealthy than he. With 
his head always high in air, he would creep through 
the tangled thicket, never breaking a twig nor 
turning a leaf; and if we did not get the bird it was 
not for the want of a fair shot. 

As an instance of his remarkable sagacity, I will 
relate an incident that was very pleasing to me, and 
that resulted in the capture of a most royal bird. It 
was just at the outlet of a large swamp, where there 
was a ditch about four feet wide, and as deep, that 
emptied into a small stream which it intersected at 
right angles. Along the bank of the stream was an 
alder thickset that extended up stream ten or twelve 
rods, and then curved round and joined the swamp. 
Near the mouth of the ditch was a favorite spot 
from which I had several times started a noble bird, 
which had always got away scot free. It would 
manage to put the thicket between itself and myself, 
and fly close to the ground until out of shot. Bound- 



My Old Dog Trim. 129 

to circumvent it, I took a friend, and placing him on 
the bank of the creek, I took the inside, between 
the alders and ditch, and sent the dog in the thicket. 
He soon struck the trail, and followed it down to the 
ditch. I took my stand about a rod from the ditch, 
and directed my companion to walk up to the dog 
and flush the bird, and the wily old fellow, taking in 
the situation at a glance, dived for the ditch, and 
flew so low that neither of us could see him. But he 
had played his last trick; there was a streak of dog 
and mud after him that forced him to show himself; 
a sullen roar, a cloud of feathers, and the gallant 
bird was beaten at his own game. Instead of stand- 
ing perfectly still at the report of the gun, as he in- 
variably did, Trim came directly to us, and, capering 
around us, plainly expressed his joy at the result; 
then going for the bird, he brought it to my friend 
first, and, arching his neck, marched around him in 
triumph two or three times, and then brought it to 
me. This was the first and last time I ever knew 
him to chase. 

Trim was absolutely perfect in the field. There 
was no necessity to tell him where to go; he covered 
the whole ground, and, although a very fast and wide 
ranger, quartered his ground so close, and showed 
himself so often, that it was no trouble to keep track 
of him. At the faintest indication of scent he would 
come to a point and remain quiet until I came up to 
him, and when he had located his bird neither en- 
couragement nor threats could move him an inch. 
At the rise of the bird, or report of the gun, he re- 



130 My Old Dog Trim. 

mained perfectly still in whatever position he hap- 
pened to be, until ordered on. He was one of the 
best retrievers that I ever saw, both from land and 
water, never mouthing his birds nor ruffling a feather. 
I never knew him to bite a bird but once. We were 
hunting a wide belt of timber, when my companion, 
at some distance to the right, signaled a point. I 
crossed over, and when nearly to him, flushed and 
shot a woodcock. At the report of the gun a grouse 
rose before the dog, and my friend dropped it close 
by the woodcock. Each bird was only winged. 
Trim gathered the grouse first, when, coming in, he 
stumbled over the woodcock, which he saw was try- 
ing to get away. He dropped the grouse and seized 
the woodcock; then seeing the grouse making off, he 
changed again. After swapping three or four times, 
he deliberately shut his jaws on the woodcock, and, 
laying him down, picked up the grouse, and bringing 
him in, returned and brought the woodcock and car- 
ried it straight to my friend, reasoning that he would 
not say a word, whereas, if he brought it to me, I 
might scold him for biting it. His conduct was the 
more singular, as he was very jealous that I should 
have all the birds, and no one could coax him to give 
up a single one. 

Trim was an indefatigable worker and disliked to 
stop a moment, but would work from morning until 
night; it was hard work to keep him quiet when I sat 
down to rest or eat a lunch. One day we had 
tramped a long distance, and coming out on the 
sunny side of the woods we sat down and took a long 



My Old Dog Trim. 131 

rest; when we got ready to start Trim was missing. 
J called and whistled, but he did not come; casting 
my eyes across the open lot I saw him two hundred 
yards away, at the far edge, pointing directly toward 
us. When we came up to him he broke his point, and 
wheeling round in the opposite direction led us a 
quarter of a mile away and came to a point at the 
edge of a stuble field. Moving on we soon flushed a 
noble bevy of quail. It was plain to be seen that he 
had been there before, as his footprints were visible 
on the soft ground. He evidently reasoned that we 
would never find him, and to let us know that he had 
found game, deliberately broke his point, and retrac- 
ing his steps to where we could see him, pointedly 
told us to come along. This peculiar trait soon 
became habitual with him, and ever after we let him 
have his own way, knowing that if he found birds he 
would show himself and cause us no trouble to look 
him up. I found this habit very useful the next 
season, as, owing to a severe cut on my ankle, I was 
incapacitated from walking very far. I would sit in 
the wagon and let him go, whiling away the moments 
like the "lone fisherman," in "glorious anticipation," 
keeping a sharp watch in every direction, and won- 
dering at what point he would make his appearance. 
As game was very plenty I was generally rewarded 
by seeing him come bounding into open, and, after a 
stride or two, strike an attitude, the memory of which, 
even now, after the lapse of nearly forty years, causes 
my heart to bound with delight, and sends the hot 
blood tingling to my fingers' ends. When Trim made 



132 My Old Dog Trim. 

a point there was a magnetic, inspiriting sympathy 
among all beholders, that I can compare to nothing 
excepting to the sensation of an electric shock, and I 
have yet to see the dog that will cause my hair to rise 
to the elevation it obtained when viewing his per- 
formances. I cannot better describe this feeling than 
to quote the language of a wood-chopping Irishman, 
near whom Trim came to point. When we came up 
the man had dropped his axe and stood looking at 
him with heaving chest, gaping mouth and wide open 
eyes. "Look at him!" he said; "did yees iver see the 
likes of that; howly Moses, how me hair riz up and 
the cowld chills run up me back when he tuck the 
scent; if the howly Virgin shud tell me there want 
twinty burds just forninst him, by me sowl I'd belave 
the dog furst." 

As an instance of his wonderful power of fascina- 
tion I cannot forbear relating a little incident that 
subsequently afforded us many days of first-rate 
sport. We were hunting close to the farm of a man 
who never allowed shooters to set foot on his 
premises. Trim came to a point a few yards from 
the line, and as we came up to him we observed the 
man leaning on the fence looking on. "Hold on," 
said he, "I want to come over and see that dog." 
We cordially invited him, and the old man became 
quite excited. "Why," said he, "I hain't been so 
woke up since my old stags run away with the plow; 
see that consarned dog's hair turn toward his head — 
it beats all creation!" We flushed and killed the bird 
and the old man was perfectly delighted. After tell- 



My Old Dog Trim. 133 

ing us he came out to keep us off his land, he gave 
us a pressing invitation, which he did not have to 
repeat, to go over and hunt in his woods, and he 
would go with us, as he wanted to see that dog per- 
form some more. It is needless to say that we went, 
and had not only a good time, but a good dinner as 
well, both of which were repeated on many subse- 
quent occasions, for he urgently invited us to come 
again and to be sure and let him know so that he 
could go along and see the fun. 

After a few seasons Trim gained a wonderful 
knowledge of the habits of the game he hunted, par- 
ticularly his favorite, the grouse. After he had taken 
two or three turns in the cover he would almost un- 
erringly indicate by his manner the presence or 
absence of game. Did he put on more steam and 
hunt as though he expected to find game, you could 
take your oath that birds were near, or had been 
there recently. On the other hand, did he slacken 
his pace, or express indifference, you might as well 
strike for some other locality, as he was rarely mis- 
taken. I soon discovered that he used his eyes as 
well as his nose, and, by closely watching him and 
profiting by his example, I soon became quite an 
adept in finding "signs." The faintest indication of 
birds — where they had scratched among the leaves — 
the plainly-to-be-seen wallow holes, where they had 
dusted themselves — a stray feather — their droppings — 
or the partially eaten fruit of the skunk cabbage — these 
were to him as an open book that he literally read as he 
ran. Often have I seen him slow up and, glancing at 



134 My Old Dog Trivi. 

the ground, throw his head in my direction and give 
me an expressive glance, accompanied by just the 
faintest wag of the end of his tail; then off again, at 
increased speed, he would seldom fail to soon find 
more tangible proofs of the presence of birds. Upon 
examining these places I would find unmistakable 
"signs," and soon learned to see them unaided by 
him. It is but a few days since I caused an incredu- 
lous smile to overspread the countenance of a friend, 
with whom I was out shooting, by pronouncing the 
cover we were in to be the home of a covey of grouse. 
We had gone scarcely fifty yards further and he was 
saying that he had hunted this cover for more than 
a dozen years and had never seen a grouse in it, 
when the dog came to a point and we flushed a splen- 
did covey of ten or eleven birds, eight of which 
accompanied us home. It is a source of pleasure to 
me, as well as a cause of wonder to my sporting 
friends, that I am thus able to predict the near 
presence of game. This is one souvenir, left me by 
old Trim, that helps to keep him ever in grateful re- 
membrance. 

Nothing pleased Trim better than to get after a wily 
old cock grouse. With what pertinacity he would 
stick to him! It was then that he put forth his 
greatest efforts, growing more eager at every rise, 
until, at last, when he had tired the bird out, or 
scared him so that we could approach near enough 
for a shot, his hair would turn toward his head, and 
he would seem to expand to twice his usual size. At 
such times he would turn his head until he caught 



My Old Dog Trim. 135 

my eye, when he would give me a glance of exulta- 
tion that there was no mistaking. Ordinarily, when 
I killed a bird, he would bring it in and lay it in my 
hand, with simply a wag of his tail; but when we got 
one of those wise old birds, he would arch his neck 
and proudly walk around me once or twice before 
delivering it, and if we had had extra hard work to 
circumvent one, he would accompany his triumphant 
march with a joyful whine, or, as a friend expressed 
it, "Singing a paean of victory." I shall never forget 
one famous chase after a magnificent old cock that 
led us a wild tramp upward of four miles, straight- 
away from the team, which we did not see again 
until after ten o'clock at night. We started him 
about two o'clock; he rose two hundred yards away, 
out from one end of an alder run as we entered the 
other. I caught a glimpse of him as he swung over 
the tree tops, and got his course, which led into 
heavy timber, where we followed him a long distance, 
only to see him pitch down from the top of a very 
tall tree. Thinking that he would not "tree" again, 
I kept on. Trim soon found his trail, but before we 
got within fifty yards he was off again. He pursued 
the same tactics several times, until my "blood was 
up," and Trim was more interested than I had ever 
seen him before. He raged around like a mad bull, 
the froth flying from his lips and his eyes glaring 
like those of a scared cat. It was now getting quite 
interesting, as it was nearly night. I still followed 
on, thinking that we must be getting the old fellow's 
wind — a supposition which proved correct, for Trim 



1 2,6 My Old Dog Trim. 

soon came to a point, and showed by his actions that 
he was close on to him. Stepping in front, great 
was my chagrin to hear this awful bird burst close to 
me, but on the other side of a bunch of laurel that I 
could neither see through nor over. I was mad, but 
nevertheless we went for him again. His next flight 
was short, and we soon found him in a bunch of 
laurel. Making up my mind that something must 
be done, I made a rush for the bunch, and, as I went 
in, heard him derisively chuckle at me, and then, 
with victorious clapping of wing, he was off. But 
he little knew with what momentum I had charged 
that "forlorn hope." I got through somehow, and 
was in time to "cut him down in his pride." How 
Trim's eyes did sparkle, and how his tail did wiggle! 
With what exultant feelings I proceeded to load, 
meanwhile, as was my wont, talking to Trim and 
telling him what mighty Nimrods we were. When 
Trim went to bring it I soon saw that it was only 
winged, but I had no fear, as it was impossible for a 
wounded bird to get away from him. As he was 
gone longer than usual, I started after him, and was 
much surprised to meet him coming back, with head 
and tail clear down, and without the bird. When he 
saw me he sullenly led the way to a ledge of rock 
under which the confounded bird had taken refuge, 
secure as though he were a t/.ousand miles away. 

I will draw the curtain here; our woe was too 
sacred for profane eyes. It was now sundown, and 
to avoid the trackless forest I concluded to skirt the 
edge, as, although a mile or two further, it would be 



My Old Dog Trim. 137 

easier. We had gone but a short distance, when 
from under an old tree top out went as many as 
twenty grouse. Dropping one right and left, I did 
not wait to load, but sent Trim after them. He 
brought them in, but so badly did he feel about 
losing that bird that the customary wag of his tail 
was entirely wanting, and he showed no disposition 
to follow up the birds just star.ed, but gloomily fol- 
lowed close at heel. Not being very well acquainted 
with the ground, and as it was pitch dark, it took us 
four weary hours to get back to the team. Trim 
sulked all the way, and not even the memory of that 
beautiful double could dissipate the sadness from my 
mind. 

The next morning, taking a friend along, we drove 
near to the place where I had started so many bird •. 
As soon as we stopped to hitch the horse Trim bolted 
for the ledge at the top of his speed, and taking the 
trail of our wounded bird, which had left its hiding 
place, soon had it where tricks would not save its 
bacon, and bringing it to us, paraded around with it, 
whining with pleasure, and finally marched up to the 
horse, and rearing up on his hind legs, held the bird 
for him to smell; then bringing it to me, he barked 
and capered until our sides ached with laughing at 
his comical performances. He had never barked 
before on any such occasion, but he felt so good that 
he had got the best of this, the wildest bird that we 
ever saw, that ordinary language failed to express 
his feelings, and several times through the day he 
would stop and look at us, a world of intelligence in 



138 My Old Dog Trim. 

his glance, and give two or three short barks, to 
which we, knowing that he was making remarks 
about his feat of the morning, would respond with 
words of praise which he appeared fully to under- 
stand. A year afterward, when in the vicinity of the 
ledge, he looked up in my face and used the same 
language, and I am confident from his manner that 
he retained a lively recollection of the affair. 

I could fill volumes with interesting incidents con- 
nected with Trim's career, but I fear that already I 
have wearied the patience of the reader, and will 
say but a few words more. For many, very many 
long years I have been anxiously seeking the coun- 
terpart of old Trim. Several times have I succeeded 
in finding something that came very near to him on 
some one kind of game, but I have never seen 
the dog that could compare with him for all kinds of 
birds; and for unflagging energy, combined with rare 
judgment, and, far more than all else, for speaking, 
almost human intelUgence, he stands without a rival. 

Graceful ferns, mingled with somber-hued mosses, 
gently wave over his silent resting place; and, for 
more than a quarter of a century, as each golden 
Indian summer returns to us, loving hands have 
plucked from the neck of the lordly grouse their 
beautiful plumes, and strewed his lowly bed with 
fitting tribute to the memory of him who loved them 
so well. 



REARING PUPPIES. 

WE receive many letters from different sections 
of the country complaining of want of suc- 
cess in raising puppies. Nearly all of them state 
that the writers have taken great pains with the 
animals and given them the best of care, but in spite 
of their efforts they sicken and die, and in many 
instances entire litters are lost. 

We have often thought that perhaps the great 
mortality complained of is owing in a great measure 
to this constant care and the delicate nursing that 
anxious breeders bestow upon their pets. Who ever 
heard of a litter of mongrels, that no one cared 
for, meeting an untimely end ? This we believe to 
be the key note of the whole matter, and that in 
order to be a successful breeder you must banish all 
fear for the lives and health of the youngsters and 
let them shift for themselves; and above all else, 
give them no drugs nor medicines of any descrip- 
tion, for we are well satisfied that ten puppies are 
killed by dosing where one is benefited, and that the 
survivor is often ruined for long-continued work by 
the injury thus wrought. 



140 Rearing Puppies. 

Now, we do not wish this to be construed as mean- 
ing that we are opposed to giving medicine some- 
times, for we are well aware that, properly adminis- 
tered, much suffering is alleviated and many lives 
are saved. But we do firmly believe that the ail- 
ments of puppyhood should be left entirely alone, 
and that nature, if untrammeled, will effect ten times 
the cures that can be accomplished by the use of 
drugs, especially as administered by the breeders 
throughout the country. Most persons have no 
practical knowledge of the deadly effects of these 
drugs, nor of the proper time and the remedy to 
apply in a very large majority of cases that come 
before them; but, anxious to do everything in their 
power to save their pet, and fearful that if something 
is not done at once the little thing will die, they, 
with the best intentions in the world, pour, down his 
throat some powerful drug that too often may cause 
the very result they fear, and then, forsooth, they 
wonder why it is that the good die so young, and can 
only account for the success of their neighbor, who 
raises every one of a mongrel litter, by the fallacious 
reasoning that the blue bloods are of a higher organ- 
ization, and consequently more delicate and harder 
to rear. That this is not true in most cases can be 
easily demonstrated by following the advice here 
given, and giving your high-toned litter the same 
chance for life that your neighbor gives his mongrels. 

We are writing only concerning mature and 
healthy animals, believing that all which are other- 
wise should be rigorously excluded from the breed- 



Rearing Puppies. 141 

ing kennel. We have bred dogs for many years, and 
have been uniformly successful, at least so far as 
bringing our puppies safely through their early days 
is concerned; and we have accomplished this — or 
rather it has been accomplished — without any trouble 
or care upon our part, by simply leaving them 
alone and trusting to nature the entire charge of 
their welfare. True, we always gave the mother 
plenty of healthful food and exercise, and as soon as 
the puppies were a few days old removed them from 
their stall and made their bed upon the bare ground, 
and there they had to stay until they were weaned. 
We were often ashamed of their dirty appearance, 
but never of their health. We never wash a puppy. 
We do not believe that it is of any benefit to them, 
except in looks, and we believe it is often a source 
of trouble in that it induces a cold which may bring 
disease and death. Of course we keep them shel- 
tered from cold and inclement weather, but at all 
times give them plenty of room on the ground, 
where they can dig in the dirt and get fresh earth to 
eat when they wish. 

After weaning, we accustom them to a diet of 
Indian or oatmeal, well cooked and mixed with 
plenty of thick sour milk. This we have found to 
be the best possible thing to expel the worms that 
many times infest them. It is also the best regulator 
of the bowels that we have ever tried, as by a little 
care in increasing or diminishing the quantity it will 
always keep them just right. We frequently boil 
meat and use the broth for making their mush, and 



142 Rearing Ptippies. 

if their condition is not just to suit, we give them 
an occasional meal of well cooked meat, and when 
their teeth begin to trouble them, we give them 
plenty of large bones, wi:;h a little meat on them, and 
n;ver, under any circumstances — for their ordinary 
ailments — do we give them a single dose of medicine, 
and above all else, we never worry our minds with 
thoughts or fears that they will not live. 



LADIES' PET DOGS. 



Their Traifting. 

THE special education of house dogs falls within, 
the scope of this book. An animal which 
has received some training is certain to be vastly 
more interesting than one which is nothing more 
than a lap dog. Such an animal may be made 
useful in many ways, and from the fact that it does 
not have to be continually looked after, causes much 
less trouble than one which has been taught nothing. 
No intelligent person who has carefully perused 
the earlier chapters of this book will have failed to 
observe that the essentials to success in teaching a 
dog are kindness, patience and firmness. In the 
case of pet dogs, which are to receive their education 
at the hands of women, the order of these essentials 
may be reversed, and we may speak of them as firm- 
ness, patience and kindness. There is little danger 
that a lady will be unnecessarily severe with her pet, 
and so it is not worth while to recommend her to 
spare the rod in its education. There is, however, 
every probability that a dog, if he be cunning and 
obstinate, may by persistently refusing to obey, wear 



i 



144 Training Pet Dogs. 

out the patience of his mistress and induce her — for 
the moment at least — to give up the struggle, and so 
may gain a victory which he will remember for a long 
time. This is a serious misfortune, and one which 
should be guarded against in every possible way. It 
need never occur, and will not to those who remem- 
ber the teachings which we are endeavoring to make 
plain. 

Before going into any details in this matter, it is 
perhaps worth while to remark that dogs do not by 
instinct understand the English language. It is 
quite a common thing to see people give a command 
to a strange dog, and, after repeating it several times, 
become quite angry because it is not obeyed. Persons 
who act in this way do not take the trouble to think. 
A dog obeys a certain command given by a particular 
person because he has learned that the sounds uttered 
are to be followed by some act of his own, but he 
does not know what meaning those sounds convey to 
us. A dog could be taught to " charge" by saying 
to him " stand on your head," just as easily as at 
the sound of the word which we commonly employ. 

Sir John Lubbock is said to have taught his dog 
to read; and, while this is of course not literally true, 
his experiments are so interesting, and show so well 
what may be done in the education of this animal, 
that we give them below. In his first note on the 
subject he says: 

" Miss Martineau once remarked that, considering 
how long we have lived in close association with ani- 
mals, it is astonishing how little we know about 



Training Pet Dogs. 145 

them, and especially about their mental condition. 
This applies with especial force to our domestic ani- 
mals, and above all of course to dogs. 

" I believe that it arises very much from the fact that 
hitherto we have tried to teach animals rather than to 
learn from them — to convey our ideas to them rather 
than to devise any language, or code of signals, by 
which they might communicate theirs to us. No 
doubt the former process is interesting and instruc- 
tive, but it does not carry us very far. 

" Under these circumstances, it has occurred to 
me whether some such system as that followed with 
deaf mutes, especially by Dr. Howe with Laura 
Bridgman, might not prove very instructive if 
adapted to the case of dogs. 

" Accordingly I prepared some pieces of stout card- 
board, and printed on each in legible letters a word 
such as ' Food,' ' Bone,' ' Out,' etc. The head master 
of one of the deaf and dumb schools kindly agreed 
to assist me. We each began with a terrier puppy, 
but neither of us obtained very satisfactory results. 
My dog, indeed, was lost before I had had him long. 
I then began training a black poodle. Van by name, 
kindly given me by my friend Mr. Nickalls. I com- 
menced by giving the dog food in a saucer, over 
which I laid the card on which was the word 'Food,' 
placing also by the side an empty saucer, covered by 
a plain card. 

" Van soon learned to distinguish between the two, 
and the next stage was to teach him to bring me the 
card; this he now does, and hands it to me quite 



146 Training Pet Dogs. 

prettily, and then I give him a bone, or a little food, 
or take him out, according to the card brought. He 
still brings sometimes a plain card, in which case I 
point out his error, and he then takes it back and 
changes it. This, however, does not often happen. 
Yesterday morning, for instance. Van brought me 
the card with ' Food ' on it, nine times in succession, 
selecting it from other phin cards, though I changed 
the relative position each time. 

" No one who sees him can doubt that he under- 
stands the act of bringing the card with ' Food ' on 
it as a request for something to eat, and that he dis- 
tinguishes between it and a plain card. I also be- 
lieve that he distinguishes, for instance, between the 
card with the word ' Food ' on it and the card with 
' Out ' on it. 

" This, then, seems to open up a method which 
may be carried much further, for it is obvious that 
the cards may be multiplied, and the dog thus ena- 
bled to communicate freely with us. I have as yet, 
I know, made only a very small beginning, and hope 
to carry the experiment much further." * * * 

This letter was written in December, 1883. 

At a later date (April, 1884) he published another 
note on the subject, in which, referring to his pre- 
vious letter, he says that it "has elicited various 
replies and suggestions which you will perhaps allow 
me to answer, and 1 may also take the opportunity of 
stating the progress which my dog Van has made, 
although, owing greatly no doubt to my frequent 
absences from home, and the little time I can devote 



Training Pet Dogs. 147 

to him, this has not been so rapid as I doubt not 
would otherwise have been the case. Perhaps I may 
just repeat that the essence of my idea was to have 
various words, such as 'food,' 'bone,' 'water,' 'out,' 
etc., printed on pieces of cardboard, and after some 
preHminary training, to give the dog anything for 
which he asked by bringing a card. 

" I use pieces of cardboard about ten inches long 
and three high, placing a number of them on the 
floor side by side, so that the dog has several cards 
to select from, each bearing a different word. 

"One correspondent has suggested that it would 
be better to use various colored cards. This might 
no doubt render the first steps rather more easy, but, 
on the other hand, any temporary advantage gained 
would be at the expense of subsequent difficulty, since 
the pupil would very likely begin by associating the 
object with the color rather than with the letters; he 
would, therefore, as is too often the case with our 
children, have the unnecessary labor of unlearning 
some of his first lessons. At the same time the ex- 
periment would have an interest as a test of the con- 
dition of the color sense in dogs. Another suggestion 
has been that, instead of words, pictorial representa- 
tions should be placed on the cards. This, however, 
could only be done with material objects, such as 
'food,' 'bone,' 'water,' etc., and would not be appli- 
cable to such words as ' out,' ' pet me,' etc.; nor even 
as regards the former class do I see that it would 
present any substantial advantage. 

" Again, it has been suggested that Van is led by 



148 Training Pet Dogs. 

scent rather than by sight. He has no doubt an 
excellent nose, but in this case he is certainly guided 
by the eye. The cards are all handled by us, and 
must emit nearly the same odor. I do not, however, 
rely on this, but have in use a number of cards bear- 
ing the same word. When, for instance, he has 
brought a card with ' food ' on it, we do not put down 
the same identical card, but another with the same 
word ; when he has brought that, a third is put down, 
and so on. For a single meal, therefore, eight or ten 
cards will have been used, and it seems clear, there- 
fore, that in selecting them Van must be guided by 
the letters. 

" When I last wrote I had satisfied myself that he 
had learnt to regard the bringing of a card as a 
request, and that he could distinguish a card with the 
word ' food ' on it from a plain one, while I believe 
that he could distinguish between a card with * food ' 
on it, and one with ' out ' on it. I have no doubt 
that he can distinguish between different words. For 
instance, when he is hungry he will bring a ' food ' 
card time after time until he has had enough, and 
then he lies down quietly for a nap. Again, when I 
am going for a walk and invite him to come, he 
gladly responds by picking up the * out ' card and 
running triumphantly with it before me to the front 
door. In the same way he knows the ' bone ' card 
quite well. As regards water (which I spell phoneti- 
cally so as not to confuse him unnecessarily), I keep 
a card always on the floor in my dressing room, and 
whenever he is thirsty he goes off there, without any 



I 



Training Pet Dogs. 149 

suggestion from me, and brings the card with perfect 
gravity. At the same time he is fond of a game, and 
if he is playful or excited will occasionally run about 
with any card. If through inadvertence he brings a 
card for something he does not want, when the cor- 
responding object is shown him he seizes the card, 
takes it back again and fetches the right one. 

" No one who has seen him look along a row of 
cards and select the right one can, I think, doubt 
that in bringing a card he feels that he is making a 
request, and that he can not only perfectly distinguish 
between one word and another, but also associate the 
word and the object, 

** I do not for a moment say that Van thus shows 
more intelligence than has been recorded in the case 
of other dogs; that is not my point, but it does seem 
to me that this method of instruction opens out a 
means by which dogs and other animals may be 
enabled to communicate with us more satisfactorily 
than hitherto. 

" I am still continuing my observations, and am 
now considering the best mode of testing him in very 
simple arithmetic, but I wish I could induce others 
to cooperate, for I feel satisfied that the system would 
well repay more time and attention than I am myself 
able to give." 

Most Ox us have seen dogs which would at com- 
mand select any particular card of a dozen spread 
upon the floor, but this is usually done in obedience 
to some signal which the dog recognizes, but which 
is imperceptible to the bystanders. Sir John Lub- 



150 Training Pet Dogs. 

bock's Van selected his cards by a process of reason- 
ing, and clearly recognized the relation between cause 
and effect, and the experiments published above have 
thus a real scientific value which does not attach to 
the performance of tricks which are only mechanical. 

We are of opinion that large dogs should not be 
made into trick dogs. Mastiffs, St. Bernards, and 
Newfoundlands are essentially guard dogs, and not 
pets. They should be taught to come, charge, heel, 
go to bed or ke?mel, fetch, and watch, but there is a 
dignity about these large animals which makes the 
performance by them of mere tricks seem out of 
place. 

The question is frequently asked which breed of 
dogs is most intelligent. The inquiry is a difficult 
one to answer. We might reply that they are all in- 
telligent enough for our purposes, but this would be 
to beg the question. Probably in the matter of 
tricks the poodle is the most intelligent, but setters, 
pointers, collies, spaniels and all the different terriers 
make attractive and intelligent pets. Many of the 
large dogs are renowned for their intelligence, 
especially the St. Bernards and Newfoundlands. 
You may be sure, however, that there is no dog so 
dull, nor so careless about pleasing his master that he 
cannot be taught, and any one of them will repay 
fourfold in affection and the added interest with 
which he will be regarded, the time and trouble spent 
on him. 

The reward of merit in the education of the dog 
should be the approbation of the one he loves best in 



Training Pet Dogs. 151 

the world. If you have treated your dog with judg- 
ment he will be so fond of you that the greatest 
pleasure that he can feel will be the sense that he is 
pleasing you. Be unstinted with your praise, then, 
when the dog has behaved creditably, and let this be 
his chief reward, though a bit of some food that he 
likes should often accompany the kind words. Let 
the praise come first, however. Your dog will soon 
learn to distinguish the tones of your voice. He 
knows when you are satisfied with him and when dis- 
pleased, when you are disposed for a game of romps 
and when you are serious. When you are giving him 
his lessons be serious with him. Do not let him fancy 
it is play, but by your grave countenance and con- 
versation try to keep his attention fixed on the matter 
which you and he have in hand. 

We have many examples of canine intelligence, and 
from results already attained it is evident that if we 
fail to instruct our dogs in tricks which are, in fact, 
merely mechanical, we have only ourselves to blame. 

The first step to be taken in the education of your 
dog is to win his affection. He comes to you a 
stranger, very likely a puppy just torn from the 
bosom of his family; at all events separated from 
some one that he loves, whether it be his mother or 
his former master. He is among strangers, and is 
very lonely. See to it therefore that you are the first 
new friend he makes. Let him be with you as much 
as possible, pet him a little, and give him his food 
with your own hands. At first, and until he comes 
to recognize you as his mistress, do everything for 



I 



152 Training Pet Dogs. 

him yourself. It will be some little trouble, but you 
will be well repaid by his gratitude and by the con- 
stantly growing interest and affection, which will soon 
subsist between you. Do not make the mistake of 
turning him over to a servant's care. If you do he 
will learn to look upon her as the one from whom he 
is to expect help and kindness, and your task of 
educating him will not be nearly so easy as if it is 
you alone that he is anxious to please. 

While you are winning his affection, study his 
character. Dogs are no more all alike mentally than 
are men. Some are irrepressible, full of wild gayety, 
always eager for a romp, and for ever getting into 
mischief; others are quiet and timid, meek in spirit, 
and ready at a sharp word to cower, or turn over on 
their backs with all four feet up in the air, in abject 
terror; others still are cunning, obstinate, and some- 
times sullen. All of them may be educated, how- 
ever, it you will but remember the watch words to 
success — firmness, patience, and kindness. 

Let us suppose that you have your dog, that you 
have made him your friend, and have gained some 
insight into his character. The first thing you should 
teach him is a lesson in obedience. It is essential 
that he should learn to come when you czll him. This 
is the simplest of his lessons, and the most important. 
Set to work then to teach him to "come." Very 
likely he already understands the meaning of the 
word, for you must have used it a great many times, 
when you were making his acquaintance. Perhaps, 
however, although he does understand it, he only 



Training Pet Dogs. 153 

obeys when it suits his fancy. You had better take 
it for granted that he does not know what the word 
means, and begin anew. 

When he is a Uttle hungry take the dog into a 
small room alone, and after having given him time 
to examine the surroundings, hold out a bit of 
cracker to him, and say, in your ordinary tone of 
voice, " Come." If he does so, pat and caress him for 
a moment, letting him see that he has done a praise- 
worthy thing, and then give him the bit of cracker. 
Repeat this at short intervals, say of five minutes, 
until he has obeyed four or five times, and then the 
lesson is over for at least two hours. You must not 
make the mistake of forcing him to do the same 
thing over and over, until he is tired of it. Make 
the lessons short, but give them two or three times a 
day, if you like. In this way your dog will learn to 
do what you ask of him readily and cheerfully. You 
are advised not to give him the cracker as soon as he 
obeys, for if you do you may get him into the habit 
of coming at call only when he feels hungry. His 
reward for his obedience should be your caresses and 
approval, and the bit of cracker should only be an 
incidental part of the performance. Do not omit it, 
however, during the first few lessons, and, as has 
been said before, see that these first ones are given 
when he is hungry, and will appreciate the food. 

With a puppy that has been perfectly trained to 
come according to our directions, no trouble will be 
had under any circumstances. But it may happen 
that you have not been able to attend to the early 



154 Traiiiing Pet Dogs. 

education of your dog yourself, and that he has 
formed the habit of doing as he pleases rather than 
as he is told to do. Such a dog will often come 
very nicely in the house, but out of doors will 
pay not the slightest attention to the voice. This 
is probably not because he is unwilling to mind, 
but very likely arises from the fact that he sees, 
when he is out walking, so much that is new and 
interesting, and that — in his opinion at least — ab- 
solutely requires investigation, that he has no time 
to pay any attention to you. If you find, when 
you first take him out, that this is his frame of 
mind, get him back to the house as soon as possible, 
and when you next take him out let it be with a light 
cotton cord, twenty or twenty-five feet in length, 
attached to his collar. This you can carry coiled in 
your left hand, letting the dog run at \hz end of 
about four feet of the line, or about the length of an 
ordinary chain. If he tugs at the cord, gradually 
give him more and more rope, until he is running 
about at its full length. Choose a moment when he 
is at the full length of the line, and then say to him 
in an ordinary tone, **Come." If he pays no atten- 
tion, repeat the word, and unless he starts toward 
you instantly, pull him in by the cord as fast as you 
possibly can. Do it quickly, and if he makes part 
of the journey on his back or his side, so much the 
better; what you want is to bring him to your feet in 
the shortest possible time. When he has completed 
his involuntary journey, and is close to you, pat and 
praise him as much as ever you choose. Make him 



Traint7tg Pet Dogs. 155 

think, if possible, that he has accompHshed wonders. 
He will be somewhat confused by his rapid transfer, 
and may not altogether understand what he is being 
praised for, but never mind. He has probably 
learned more than either you or he suspect. Pet 
him and praise him until he is in good spirits once 
more, and then continue your walk. Give him a 
little time to recover from his first lesson, and then 
as you are on your way home repeat it. Probably 
this time he will at least hear you when you say 
" Come," and will look at you, but waste no time in 
calling him. If he does not start at the second call, 
drag him in hand over hand. Two days of this in- 
struction will probably be enough to give him a very 
clear idea of what the word " Come " means, and it 
is probable that on the third day he will obey 
promptly and cheerfully. Of course, if he is a 
puppy, he will forget from time to time, but an oc- 
casional walk at the end of the cord will refresh his 
memory, so that after a short time the cord may be 
entirely dispensed with. 

After the dog has learned to come, the next lessons 
should be to charge and to walk at heel. These have 
already been enlarged upon in preceding chapters 
(pages 17 and 39), and nothing need be added to 
them here. 

Then follows "sit up." All small dogs learn this 
readily, and you will not care to have a large dog do 
it. Put the animal before you in a sitting position, 
and taking both forepaws in your left hand, raise 
them from the ground and balance him on his 



156 Training Pet Dogs. 

haunches, supporting him by the forepaws so that 
he will not fall, and with your right hand hold a bit 
of cracker before his nose. His attention will soon 
be concentrated on this, and he will forget to strug- 
gle, and will involuntarily try to keep his balance. 
Keep him there for half a minute, and then give him 
th3 cracker and the praise. After two or three les- 
sons of this kind you will not have to hold his paws, 
but merely to keep your hand under them to prevent 
his falling forward. A little later it will be easy to 
withdraw the support altogether. After each lesson 
you must not fail to caress the pupil, and let him un- 
derstand that he has done well and deserved your 
approbation. Give him also the more substantial 
reward of a bit of food, but — if you can — make him 
understand that his compensation for his efforts is 
the petting and the praise. 

Your dog has now learned four " tricks "^if you 
wish to call them so — at all events he has four ac- 
complishments, three of which will add very greatly 
to your comfort in dealing with him. He will, if you 
have taught him in the right way, come to you at the 
word, will walk close beside you without running off 
to fraternize with strange curs that he may see in the 
street, and will lie down and remain in one place and 
posture until you tell him to "hold up;" even though 
you go out of the room and leave him alone for half 
an hour. The sitting up is after all the only " trick " 
he has learned. The other three accomplishments 
are really necessary parts of his education. 

In the sitting-room or library, or wherever it may 



Training Pet Dogs. 157 

be that you spend most of your time, there should 
be a corner devoted to your dog. On the floor in 
this corner there should be a cushion or mat large 
enough for the dog to lie on. You will often find 
that when you are busy, the dog will insist on having 
some attention, will either want to be petted or to 
play, and so will be somewhat troublesome. Teach 
him, therefore, when he is told to do so, to " go to 
bed." All that is necessary in this is to give the com- 
mand, lead him to his bed, and when he has reached it 
order him to " charge " there. After you have done 
this a few times he will understand what you mean by 
" go to bed," and will obey readily enough. You can 
call him out of his corner by the words " hold up " and 
"come along," and after a little the mere pointing of 
your finger to his bed will be enough to send him 
trotting into his corner. 

By varying the places you can readily enough 
teach him to go to the window, get upon the sofa or 
chair, go upstairs, into the dining-room, or into any 
room in the house. We have had toy dogs that we 
have sent into a corner as a punishment, as naughty 
children are sometimes supposed to be disciplined, 
but the punishjnent corner should not be the same as 
the bed corner. The order to go into the first- 
named should always be given in a tone of mingled 
severity and reproach, and, of course, the dog should 
not be sent there unless it has really in some way 
offended. 

In a previous chapter the lesson " fetch " has been 
given, but for toy dogs, a less elaborate method will 



158 Training Pet Dogs. 

do. All young dogs delight to run after a ball, and 
will usually either bring it back to be thrown again, 
or will carry it off to one side and amuse themselves 
for a while by gnawing at it. Your dog, however, has 
been taught to " come," and if he shows a disposition 
to run off with the ball, you must call him to you. If 
he brings the ball, caress and praise him, and then 
throw it again, and if he brings it the second time, 
repeat the praise, and congratulate yourself upon 
having a natural retriever. If, however, he drops the 
ball when you call him and runs to you, lead him 
back to the ball, place it gently between his jaws and 
hold it there and lead him back to the spot where 
you stood when you first called him, repeating 
the word "fetch." Then praise and pet him, and 
after a moment, interest him in the ball and throw 
it again. In putting the ball in his mouth you must 
be very gentle with him, for this is something entirely 
new, and he will not understand it, and may, if he is 
of a timid disposition, be frightened by what you are 
doing. Be quiet, therefore, and deliberate in all your 
movements, and as you lead him back with the ball 
in his mouth, say in a quiet voice, "fetch," "fetch." 
He will comprehend what you desire very soon, and 
as he enjoys the sport of chasing the ball, will be only 
too glad to obey your order as soon as he understands 
what you mean. 

By the time your dog has acquired the various 
accomplishments already alluded to, the association 
between you has no doubt extended over several 
months. You have probably gained something 



Training Pet Dogs. 159 

of an insight into his character, and he has come 
to understand your ways very thoroughly. If you 
speak to him cheerfully and encouragingly he is de- 
lighted; if you rebuke or reproach him he is morti- 
fied and grieved, and shows it in every hair of his 
body. Needless to say that you are very fond of him, 
and that he fairly worships you. You find too that 
he now learns much more quickly than at first. Not 
only has his intelligence been directed by his education, 
but his ever increasing desire to win your approba- 
tion makes him strive to comprehend what you wish, 
and to remember it after he has come to an apprecia- 
tion of what the command means. The lessons 
which you have given him have probably not been 
without their effect upon you, and you have learned 
a great deal about dogs and their intelligence and 
methods of reasoning, which has never been set down 
in words. 

It will not be very difficult for you to very con- 
siderably extend your dog's list of accomplishments. 
You can keep his playthings in some corner which 
is accessible to him, and can teach him to bring you 
at command any one of the articles that you may 
designate; can teach him to shake hands, to roll over, 
to walk on his hind legs, to chase his tail, to wipe his 
feet on the mat at the front door when he is coming 
in from his walk, and a great many other simple 
tricks of this description. A trick that is rather cun- 
ning and usually interests visitors is to teach him at 
the words " Die for your country " to stretch himself 
on his side with closed eyes as if dead. Then at the 



i6o Training Pet Dogs. 

words " Country's saved," to spring up, and appear 
full of life. Another similar trick is to throw the 
ball, or a bit of cracker, and as he runs toward it say 
distinctly " It costs money." At this he should stop, 
and not approach the coveted object until informed 
that it is "paid for." 

" Roll over " is readily taught. Kneel by the dog's 
side and as you repeat the words press him to the 
ground, and quickly turn him over on his back, 
and then the rest of the way. Then let him stand 
up, and give him his reward. Eight or ten lessons 
will perfect him in this. 

It scarcely seems necessary to detail each par- 
ticcular step to be gone through with in teaching 
these lessons, for this would involve almost endless 
repetition. It may be taken for granted that any one 
who has successfully taught her dog the first few 
lessons described in this chapter will have gained a 
certain amount of experience, which, with her com- 
mon sense, will qualify her to proceed with any of the 
succeeding steps. 

Nothing has as yet been said about chastisement 
for faults committed. Sometimes it is necessary to 
whip a dog, though we think not often. A lecture 
on the enormity of his sins delivered in a solemn re- 
proachful tone of voice will usually be enough to 
make the offender so ashamed of himself that he will 
take great care not to repeat his fault. If it is neces- 
sary to whip him use a fine switch, a ladies' riding 
switch is good, and hit him a few blows with the end 
of it, blows which will sting and not bruise. Two or 



Training Pet Dogs. i6i 

three hard blows — which really hurt — are as good as 
a dozen. But under ordinary circumstances a scold- 
ing or a box on the ears will be all the punishment a 
little dog is likely to require. 

Having thus set forth our view of the methods to 
be followed in training pet dogs, we propose to fortify 
ourselves by giving the experience of a lady who has 
had a wide experience in this field and whose dogs 
are extremely interesting little creatures. She says: 

"I think that the secret of * training ' a dog easily, is 
to have it about one as much as possible, and to talk 
to it until it learns to know every inflection of your 
voice. I have never punished a dog while teaching, 
but when once it has learned, then disobedience 
should always be punished. Great patience and 
gentleness are required, especially in the early stages 
of his education. At this time, if the dog does not 
obey, it is usually because he does not understand 
what is required of him. Never lose your temper 
with a dog. It does not pay. One should study the 
dog's character as you would a child's. Some dogs I 
have never been able to whip at all, they seemed too 
utterly timid, and a sharp word was as effective with 
them as a thrashing to another dog. 

"It is commonly said that children will never show 
off when their parents want them to. Do not let 
your dog get into so bad a habit, but make him obey 
the moment you speak. The habit of rewarding him 
afterward tends to insure ready and cheerful obedi- 
ence. It is a good idea to make your dog go through 
all his tricks just before you give him his dinner. If 



1 62 Training Pet Dogs. 

he is "hungry he will be very likely to acquit him- 
self to your perfect satisfaction. 

" Dogs are generally considered a nuisance in a 
dining-room, but well-trained dogs are no such 
things. We have two little terriers who always fol- 
low the family to the dining-room. Each one has a 
particular chair by the window, on which he remains 
without stirring until the meal is over. It is curious 
to see the annoyance of one dog if his brother jumps 
on the wrong chair. As the chairs are precisely alike, 
and stand side by side, it would appear to a casual 
observer a matter of small importance whether either 
dog occupied the right or the left hand chair. The 
mortification of either dog on reaching the dining- 
room a few moments after the meal has begun is also 
amusing. They sneak in with head and tail down, 
as though overwhelmed with shame. These two 
terriers are both good retrievers, and if ordered to go 
into another room to look for a lost ball they will 
search for it in the most conscientious manner, and 
will find it if it is there. The younger of the two 
learned almost entirely from his older brother, who 
was very well trained before the second one was 
brought to the house." 

A few words of suggestion as to the care of pet 
dogs may be useful, although they have nothing to 
do with training. They are admonitions rather than 
hints, and attention to them may save some anxiety. 

Never give your dog an india rubber ball for a 
plaything. If you do he will be pretty sure to get 



Training Pet Dogs. 163 

into the way of chewing it, and will finally tear it to 
pieces, and swallow some of them. If he does this 
he will probably die. Certainly he will be sick for a 
long time. The best ball for him is a common 
child's soft ball, with a tough leather cover. It 
should be so large that he can just comfortably take 
it in his mouth. 

In bathing your dog do not use warm water. If 
you do, you greatly increase the likelihood of his 
taking cold, and there are many ailments of the dog 
which have their beginning in colds. Use either 
cold water or else just take the chill off it, but do 
not let it be warm. After the bath rub him as nearly 
dry as possible with a coarse towel, and try to keep 
him moving until he is quite dry. 

Most of the simple ailments of the dog connected 
with the stomach or bowels can be relieved by one or 
two doses of syrup of buckthorn, which can be pro- 
cured of any druggist. For a dog weighing from 
ten to fifteen pounds give a dessertspoonful at a dose; 
for a five-pound animal a teaspoonful is enough, and 
a big dog should have a tablespoonful. 

It may be stated that a strange dog, or one that is 
very timid, or one brought from the country into the 
city, and so introduced to new, strange and perhaps 
terrifying sights and sounds, should at first always 
be taken out to walk on chain. If this precaution is 
not observed it is very likely to be lost or to cause 
great trouble by running away. 



INDEX 



Page. 

Age to Train ii, 22, 23 

Backing 89 

Birds to Train on 72, 77 

"Bring" 54 

Carrying 60 

Cats 32 

Chain 2g 

"Charge" 155 

Charging 19, 25, 41 

Chickens, Pointing 30 

Collies 150 

"Come" IS3' 154 

Coupling 85 

Cripples 93 

*'Die for Your Country" 159 

Disposition 25 

Exercise 32 

Fences 49 

"Fetch" 54, 158 

Field Practice 70 

Flushing 75, 79, 81 

"Fur" Pointing 3I1 32 

"Go on". 37 

"Go to r ed" 157 

Gunshyness 32 

Gun, Working to 77 

Head Carried High 44 

"Heel" 40, 155 

"Hie on" 37 

Hints 163 

House Training 12,13 

Intelligence 23, 62 

"It Costs Money" 160 

Large Dogs 150 

Mastiflfs 150 



Page. 

Newfoundlands 150 

Obedience 16 

"On" 37 

One-Eyed Grouse, The 96 

Pedigree 11 

Pet Dogs 143 

Poodles 150 

Pointers 150 

Pottering 86, 87 

Punishment.. 10 

Puppies, Rearing 139 

Quartering 43 

Rabbits 31 

Ranging, Wide 86, 87 

Retrieving 28, 51 

Rewards 151 

"Roll Over." 160 

Ruffed Grouse 71, 77 

Setters.. 150 

Signals 15 

Sir John Lubbock's "Van" 144 

"Sit Up" 15s 

Speed 86, 87 

St. Bernards 150 

Staunchness 16, 75, 81 

Strangers 42 

Teaching to Read 144 

Terriers 150 

"To-ho" 14, 36, 41 

Trim .... 112 

Water 49, 50 

Whipping 10, 68, 160 

Whistle 12, 35 

Working in Company 83 

"Van (Sir John Lubbock's) 144 



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comfortably. Its author, "Nessmuk," describes the necessary 
outfit, tells how to camp, cook, catch fish, capture game, and 
in short, how to make the very most of a trip to the woods. 
It is as well written and as useful in its way as "Training vs. 
Breaking." (Postpaid, $i.oo.) 



II.-SHORE BIRDS. 

A pamphlet for those who gun along the shore. Tells of: 
I. Haunts and Habits — Where the birds live and what they do 
at home. II. Range and Migration — Where they go to breed 
and where to spend the winter. III. A Morning Without the 
Birds— An episode of shore shooting. IV. Nomenclature — A 
list of our American species of Limicolcs , with a description of 
each species. V. Localities — Where to go to shoot them. 
VI. Blinds and Decoys — How to shoot them after you have 
reached the grounds. (Paper. Price, 15 ceuts.) 

III.-ANGLING TALKS. 

A series of charming, chatty papers on angling and anglers, 
written by the late George Dawson (editor of the Albany 
Evening yournal), just before his death. Having cast a fly on 
the most famous waters of this continent, and having camped 
with many of the leaders in the generation of anglers now pass- 
ing away, Mr. Dawson was overflowing with delightful remi- 
niscenses and anecdotes of his life on the streams. The "Talks" 
are entertaining from title page to end. (Price, 50 cents.) 



IV -ANTELOPE AND DEER. 

This is Judge Jolin Dean Caton's magnificent work on the 
"Antelope and Deer of America," a book in the monumental 
character of which every sportsman may take a just pride. It 
treats very fully of all tlie deer family, from the moose to the 
tiny Acapulco deer; and is written, all the way through, with the 
abundant enthusiasm of a deer hunter and a devoted student of 
nature's w^ays. (Cloth, illustrated, 426 pp. Price, $2.50.) 



V.-BIRD NOTES. 

The files of t^^e Forest and Stream contain thousands of notes 
on the habits of different birds. A digest of all the notes in the 
first twelve volumes of the paper has been printed under the 
above title. For facts about birds, we know of no other book 
that has so much in the same space. (Paper. Price, 75 cents). 



"A. K. R." 



American Kennel Register. 

A monthly publication of the records of pedigrees, breeders, 
owners and performances of sporting and non-sporting dogs. 
Already (March, 1886) contains more than 5,500 pedigrees. 
Also gives prize lists of all American (and most important 
foreign) bench shows and field trials, with such other matters of 
note as make the successive numbers invaluable as a work of 
reference. Sold only by annual subscription ($1.50 per year). 
Entr} blanks for pedigrees (which may be entered by any one 
whether subscriber or not) will be sent on receipt of stamped 
and directed envelope. Address: AMERICAN Kennel Regis- 
ter, P. O. Box 2,832, Nl'.v Yo:1:. 




t 



SPRATT'S 

PATENT 





(WITH BEETROOT.) 
IMPROVED PATENT, 1881. 



We have discovered and patented an important improvement to oar 
Cakes by supplying the long-felt want of sufficient vegetable matter in the 
Cakes themselves. In now introducing them, the public must not suppose 
that -we have removed or changed any 0/ the ingredients (including 
dates and the best Scotch oatmeal) 0/ our Fibrine Cakes^ which for twenty 
years have had so great a reputation, and by successive improvements and 
care in the manufacture, and in choosing th; best materials, have reached a 
very high degree of perfection. 

After thorough and widely-tried experiments upon all classes of dogs, and 
witnessing their preference for and increased thriving upon our new produc- 
tion, we have permanently adopted among the ingredients the addition of a 
selected and specially prepared variety of the vegetable Beta vulgaris^ or 
Beetroot. 

After repeated experimental trials for years of every species of vegetable, 
we have found that a kind of beet is the only one that bears the enormous 
heat necessary for perfect baking, while retaining the essential vegetable 
quality uninjured, and in its highest condition for the dog. 

Beetroot contains one-tenth of saccharine matter, the remainder constitut- 
ing the true vegetable quality of the utmost value in due proportion. It 
thus makes up the perfect balance, the want of which has been the only 
fault of the date, which contains more than one-half sugar. 

Our anxiety has constantly been to counteract any binding tendency to 
dogs not kept in full work, and for this reason we have been obliged care- 
fully to avoid the least excess of dates, that in other respects have such ex- 
cellent value as an ingredient. 

The beet that we now use has no binding effect whatever, but a gentle, 
healthy action in the opposite direction, enabling the various other bone, 
flesh and tissue-forming substances used in the manufacture of our cele- 
brated Fibrine Cakes, the more readily to assimilate with the gastric juices, 
whereby digestion is more perfectly formed. 



FRANCIS O. de LUZE & CO., 

18 South William St., New York. 
SOLE WHOLESALE AGENTS. 



ledford Eancy Groods Co. 

No. 7o7 BROADWAY, 

NEW YORK. 

The Only Exclusive Manufacturers of 

DOG JEWELRY. 




•McLOG COLLAES AND FURNISHINGS, 

LEADS, BELLS, WHIPS, WHISTLES,*<- 

Blankets, Muzzles, Couplings, 

XjE^ideiss, njLiaisrESS, etc 




C. B. WILKINSON, 

8 JOHN ST., NEW YORK. 

— MANUFACTURER OF — 

MEDALS, 

BADGES AND EMBLEMS 

OF EVERY DESCRIPTION. 

SPECIAL DESIGNS SENT FREE UPON 
APPLICATION. 

Anything in the JeA?velry line 
Made to Order. 



VINCENT BISSIG, 
Practical Gunsmith, 

9 CHAMBERS STREET, 

NE'W YORK. 



New and second-hand Guns, Pistols and Sporting Articles 
constantly on hand. 

Guns, Rifles, Pistols and every description of Fire- Arms made 
to order. 

Stocks altered to fit Shooter. 

Pistol-Grips added to Stocks. 

Pin-Fire Guns converted to Central Fire, and all other kinds 
of repairing on Fire-Arms executed with disjjatch and warranted. 
SHELLS LOADED TO ORDER. 



E. B. GOLDSMITH, 

Cistoii HoflSB ii Forwariii Apt, 

58 WALL STREET, 

NEW YORK. 

Receives and forwards Dogs, Fowls, etc., etc., to 
any destination. Kennel Clubs, Sportsmen and 
others intending to import dogs from Europe should 
have their stock consigned to him. Information 
furnished in regard to the best methods of import- 
ing, shipping, etc. 

For Any Book on Any Subject, 

Write to the 

Forest & Stream Pub. Co. 

39 Park Row, New York. 



Our Specialty is Practical Books, 

by Practical Sportsmen, for 

Practical Sportsmen. 



Fleas! FMs!! foms! Woms!! 

STEDMAN'S 

Flea Powder for Dogs. 

A BANE TO FLEAS-A BOON TO DOGS. 



This powder is guaranteed to kill fleas on dogs or any other 
animals, or money returned. It is put up in patent boxes, with 
sliding p'cpper-ljox top, which greatly facilitates its use. Simple 
and efficacious. 

Price, 50 Cents, by Mail, Postpaid. 



Areca Nut for Worms in Dogs. 
A CERTAIN REMEDY. 

Put up in boxes containing ten powders, with the direc- 
tions for use. 

Price, 50 Cents per Box, by Mail. 

Both the above are recommended by the FOREST AND 
Stream and Rod and Gun. 



THOMAS J. CONROY, 

65 FULTON STREET, - - - NEW YORK 

HENRY C. SQUIRES, 

178 BROADWAY, .... NEW YORK. 

WRIGHT & DITSON, 

580 WASHINGTON STREET, - - BOSTON, MASS. 




Collector and Importer of tlie different 
Brandies of Natural History. 

199 WILLIAM STREET, Near Frantforl Street, 

NEW YORK. 



All orders for mounting Birds, Animals, Reptiles, Heads of Quadrupeds, 
etc , executed in an artistic manner. Skins tanned and dressed with the 
heads and pa us stuffed suitable for Robes or Rugs. 

A lar:e assortment of Bird and Animal Skins, as well as stuffed specimens 
for scientific purposes, singly or in groups, always on hand. 

Home decorations, such as horns of foreign and native animals, heads of 
deer, moose, elk, fox, bear, wolf, dog, etc. 

Panels with game-birds and animals, flying birds, cases of birds, and 
other curiosities sold at reasonable prices. 

ARTIFICIAL EYES FOR SALE. 



Tkurbers Reliable 

CANNED GOODS 

— FOR THE — 

Hunter and the Angler, 

— OR— 

TRAVELER BY LAND OR SEA. 



Thurber's Reliable Canned Goods will be found just the 
articles required. They are packed in handy and convenient 
packages, and are ready for use at a moment's notice. Can be 
served hot or cold. The following will be found specially 
adapted to the requirements of the sportsman : 

THURBER'S BONED TURKEY. 

ROAST 

BONED CHICKEN. 
«• ROAST " 

" LUNCH HAM. 

«« WHOLE BONELESS COOKED HAMS. 

" LUNCH TONGUE. 

" ROLLED OX TONGUE. 

« POTTED MEATS. 

Ham, Tongne, Beef, Turiey, CMclen, Ml ani Gaie. 

Also a full assortment of Canned Vegetables and Fruit packed 
where grown and while fresh and delicious. 

ROASTED COFFEE, in Pound Packets, (not ground). 
No. 34.-STRONG AND PUNGENT. 
No. 4-1. -MILD AND RICH. 

Sold by all first-class grocers and dealers in Reliable Food 
Products. 



M 27 88 









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